25 February 2004 17:25
Ministerial reform, anticorruption drive discussed at conference in Moscow
Moscow, 25 February: Each Russian ministry is expected to hold between 10 per cent and 15 per cent of its current
functions as a result of the administrative system reform, Russia's acting deputy prime minister, Boris Aleshin,
told a conference dedicated to issues of administrative reform and small businesses.
"A wide range of functions carried out by the government will be eliminated so that each ministry carries 10 per
cent to 15 per cent of all functions," Aleshin said.
The ministries will be in charge of tariff and non-tariff regulation, property management and budget issues, as well
as of a small number of public services, he noted.
In general, the ministries' duties will be targeted at creating favourable conditions for business development
in Russia, he said.
All the functions of the ministries will be carried out "at a higher quality", Aleshin added.
On the whole, half of all state functions will be subject to changes, he said.
When asked if the new government will continue the implementation of reform, Aleshin said: "Since the rate (of
the reform) has been set and a systematic approach chosen, anyone will be able to continue and finish it."
Speaking about the reform, Aleshin said earlier this month that it will be conducted in several stages, the first of
which is likely to be completed by 1 April. In general, the first results of Russia's administrative reform will be
visible in the middle of 2005, Aleshin said then.
The administrative reform envisages cutting state bureaucracy by at least 30 per cent, Aleshin said.
The administrative reform also sets a fight against corruption as a priority for the next two years, First Deputy
Economic Development and Trade Minister Mikhail Dmitriyev told the same conference.
According to Dmitriyev, such a fight is just beginning in Russia.
To draft anticorruption measures, it is first necessary to have a thorough understanding of current legislation, as
well as new draft laws to find possible loopholes that may lead to corruption, Dmitriyev said.
Then it is essential to find out in which spheres corruption is at its highest levels and to apply effective
anticorruption procedures there, as well as to make amendments to the Criminal Code and draft a bill on lobbying, he
added.
The administrative reform should also list the functions of officials to avoid the current nontransparency, Dmitriyev
said.
[Prime-TASS news agency] |
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