KYIV (March 31): Living always with the possibility of Russian bombardment, Ukraine’s Civil Servants are working steadily and defiantly to lead the country towards membership of the European Union and a place among Western democracies.
Many senior officers in the 208,000-strong bureaucracy recognise the huge reforms that will be needed to be successful, but even as the Russian invaders put increasing pressure on Ukraine’s eastern front lines, they are determined to press on.
After the invasion, now more than two years old, the Civil Service swiftly transitioned to emergency mode by relocating to safer buildings, adopting more agile working practices, and expediting decision-making.
This resilience ensured that public services continued and State institutions functioned as well as they could under conditions of war, even as many officers had to relocate or leave the service altogether to join the army.
According to one official, this resilience also helped address the reputation for corruption that had grown up around Ukraine. “If the State really had been hollowed out by graft, it would have collapsed in a matter of days,” the official said.
While the 261,000 members of the armed forces are the heroes of the hour, the officer said it was the “the task of the Civil Service to win the peace after the army wins the war on the battlefield”.
This is especially important for Ukraine’s EU journey and the country’s recovery and reconstruction. It is, therefore, crucial for Ukraine and its international partners to invest in the capacities of Civil Servants.
Lesia Ogryzko, a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, has called for Kyiv and the EU to cooperate on a comprehensive strategy to support the Civil Service.
“EU institutions, along with countries from the last two waves of EU accession, should offer Ukrainian Civil Servants extensive on-site training and experience-sharing sessions on the negotiation process, the negotiation framework, access to structural funds, and related topics,” Ms Ogryzko said.
“The EU should include Ukrainian Civil Servants in internal discussions around the shape of the reforms that are needed, so that they can consider them from the perspective of a future member State.”
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NZ Parliament ‘hacked by Chinese’
WELLINGTON (March 29): New Zealand intelligence services have accused a Chinese cyber espionage group, known as Advanced Persistent Threat 40 (APT 40), of being involved in a cyber hack on Parliament in 2021.
The State-sponsored APT 40 is believed to have gathered technical information on Parliamentary services that would have allowed for more intrusive activity in the future. Nothing of a sensitive or strategic nature was reportedly stolen in this initial raid.
Authorities also said that seven New Zealand citizens allegedly provided training to China’s military in the past 18 months, which a top intelligence official said constituted a “major national security risk”.
Foreign Minister, Winston Peters said actions like this were unacceptable. “We have urged China to refrain from such activity in future,” Mr Peters said.
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Rutte closer to NATO’s top job
THE HAGUE (April 2): Support is growing for current Dutch Caretaker Prime Minister, Mark Rutte to become the next Secretary-General of NATO, after Lithuania and Estonia came on board.
This means 28 of the 32 NATO States are now backing Mr Rutte, who will step down from his caretaker position as soon as a new Netherlands Government is formed after post-election negotiations are completed.
Lithuanian President, Gitanas Nauseda said Mr Rutte was one of the first European politicians to recognise the Russian threat to NATO generally after the invasion of Ukraine.
Estonian Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas announced her position on X, saying a strong NATO should focus on Russia, increase defence spending and support Ukraine's membership. "I have discussed this in depth with Mark Rutte and he commits to these priorities,” she said.
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Departments in dark over failing staff
LONDON (April 1): A report by the United Kingdom National Audit Office (NAO) has found that almost one in five Government Departments do not know how many under-performing workers they have — and most are unable to say how much it costs to hire new staff.
The NAO, which oversees public spending, said 11 out of 16 Departments also failed to identify how long it takes for new recruits to pass security vetting.
The report comes against a backdrop of promised cuts to the Civil Service and increased workload pressures in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, Brexit and the cost-of-living crisis.
Head of the NAO, Gareth Davies said the Cabinet Office and Departments “need to work together more effectively to drive efficiency” to help the Civil Service meet the challenges it faces.
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Officers told to ‘stand-up’ to Ministers
SINGAPORE (March 27): Singaporean Civil Servants have been urged to stand up to Ministers if they disagree with what the politicians are doing — an absolute necessity if the country’s democratic system is to work properly.
Senior Minister, Teo Chee Hean said that as a young political office-holder, he benefited from the wise counsel of many senior Civil Servants.
“They spoke and acted with integrity and courage, and I have great respect for them. It reminds me these days to listen and learn from younger officers so that they are encouraged to share their considered views and to justify them,” Mr Teo said in a speech to senior bureaucrats at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre.
“However, besides speaking truth to power, Civil Servants need to bring power to truth, convincing Ministers through the conviction behind their ideas and advice.”
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Officials question proposed border law
HELSINKI (April 2): Officers from the Finnish Border Guard have taken issue with the Government in its attempt to introduce legislation to discourage the Russian ‘weaponisation’ of migrants on the border between the two countries.
A statement issued by the officials argues that the proposed Bill would violate the foundations of the Finnish State, threatening constitutional order and rule-of-law principles.
“The obvious conflicts between the Bill and other binding pieces of legislation that regulate the actions of officers will result in situations where the official interpreting and enacting the law cannot, in practice, avoid violating their official duty,” the officers claimed.
The Bill would enable the Government to temporarily suspend the right of people to seek international protection at and in the immediate vicinity of borders. During such a suspension, border officers would have the authority to remove people from Finnish soil.
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Korean bureaucrats rushing to the exit
SEOUL (March 27): An alarming exodus of South Korean Public Servants has been identified by the Korea Institute of Public Administration (KIPA), with as many as 13,566 officers quitting their jobs less than five years into their careers in 2023 — 3,020 walking out in their first year.
The KIPA identified low pay as the biggest drawback, with the starting salary of an entry-level worker fixed at ₩1,877,000 won ($A2,128), less than the monthly minimum wage of ₩2,060,000 won ($A2,335) .
“The rigid and demanding bureaucratic work culture also is a damper. Unpaid overtime is a norm, and many often have to devote their weekends to handling Local Government events,” the KIPA said.
“There are also many complaints about dumping the most difficult work on a new recruit, while assigning simple office work to a senior.”
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Management blamed for productivity failings
KINGSTON (March 29): As the Jamaican Government moves to implement the next phase of its public sector compensation review, Prime Minister, Andrew Holness has reiterated a call for increased productivity in the bureaucracy.
“The public sector is made up of people; we have to get those people to be more efficient — however, productivity is a complex issue, partly driven by motivation fuelled by compensation,” the Prime Minister said.
Mr Holness said a key part of productivity is management “and the culture of managing our resources for efficient delivery is not a culture that is deeply entrenched in our Public Service”.
He said the Government had put in place the compensation review program, which in part was about increasing pay levels, “so this should be a major motivating factor”.
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Mayoral candidate killed on street
MEXICO CITY (April 2): A candidate for Mayor in one of Mexico’s most violent cities has been gunned down and killed while campaigning for the position. Three other people, including an aspirant for a Council position, were wounded.
Gisela Gaytán, the Morena Party’s candidate for Mayor of Celaya, Guanajuato, was delivering an address on the street in San Miguel Octopan, a suburb about 10 kilometres north-east of downtown Celaya.
The murder came just one day after the campaign period officially got under way in Guanajuato ahead of elections on June 2.
Just hours before she was killed, Ms Gaytán (38) had asked for protection during her campaign in Celaya, a city of more than half a million people in south-eastern Guanajuato, Mexico’s most violent State in terms of total homicides.
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Problem-solving bureaucrats praised
ABUJA (March 28): The head of Nigeria’s Civil Service has commended
bureaucrats for their performance in the “transformative and innovative service”
introduced by the Federal Government.
Speaking at an award ceremony for the 2023 Innovation Competition, Folasade
Yemi-Esan said officers had been able to find solutions to many issues.
“It is pleasing to note that our resolve to sustain innovation in the
service and discourage the suppression of ideas is yielding tangible results,”
Ms Yemi-Esan said.
“Nigerian Civil Servants can produce the best results when they are
engaged and provided with an enabling environment to express themselves in
their work.”
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