A total of 200 employees have been laid off at the Ministry of Innovation and Digital Transformation. This was announced by Minister Ivan Vasilev, who said that 120 people had been dismissed during the first wave of optimisation, followed by a further 80 layoffs.
He said the changes had been made following an analysis of the structure and work of the ministry. Duplicate functions resulting from the merger of two ministries were taken into account, as were the performance results of the individual directorates.
“We are implementing genuine optimisation, rather than simply talking about cutting positions,” Ivan Vasilev said.The minister said that the specialised administration has four directorates whose specific responsibilities, commitments and expected results have been defined. The assessment took into account employees’ proactiveness, the quality of their work, the performance of their daily tasks and compliance with deadlines.
More than 5,000 positions cut
Vasilev said that more than 5,000 positions had been cut in the state administration. He described the measure as part of the gradual optimisation of processes in public institutions.
“Who before us has cut more than 5,000 positions in the administration? Perhaps this is not enough, but the reform can continue gradually,” the minister said.He clarified that some ministries have vacant positions, but decisions concerning them fall within the remit of the respective managers.
Vasilev also commented on the planned 5% increase in remuneration in the administration. In his view, the measure should be considered against the backdrop of forecast inflation of 4% next year. He said that, when preparing the budget, a balance had been sought between cutting expenditure and providing more funds for salaries, pensioners and families with children.
“Sigma” to show links in public procurement
A new version of the “Sigma” platform is expected to be presented next week. It will link data from the Commercial Register with information about companies and public procurement contracts.
According to the minister, the analysis covers all 265 municipalities. More than 500 people who had held public office or were required to submit conflict-of-interest declarations were identified, with companies linked to them having received public procurement contracts.
Vasilev stressed that the existence of such a connection in itself does not mean that the law has been violated. According to him, making the data public will make it possible to track how public funds are distributed.
“We will show the facts as they are,” Ivan Vasilev said.A third version of “Sigma” is also being developed. It is intended to focus on oversight of the public procurement award process itself. The goal, as stated by the minister, is to limit the possibility of a contracting authority favouring a particular company or contractor.
At the end of the interview, Vasilev said that Bulgaria would not only catch up with Estonia in digitalisation, but surpass it.