ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The KRG introduced a new project aimed at decreasing bureaucracy and enhancing public services.
“The duty of the government consists of protecting the life and property of citizens and providing private and public services,” Deputy KRG Prime Minister Qubad Talabani told ministry officials, explaining the new Khizmat (service) project on Thursday, according to an official statement.
Khizmat will include all public and private services provided by the KRG directly or indirectly, he explained.
“The aim of the Khizmat project is to improve the level of services and decrease bureaucracy in the institutions of the regional government when taking care of people’s affairs,” the KRG’s statement added.
Talabani expressed hope that the size of the government would shrink as ministries and departments manage their affairs through “a new and proper structure.” The KRG has been widely criticized for its oversized employee roll.
An advisor to Talabani said Khizmat teams are ready to work. “We will do our best for the different sectors and institutions of the government to work with this new system as soon as possible,” Safeen Ghafour said in a statement.
Khizmat is the latest in a series of reforms that are currently being worked on or have already been implemented as the KRG seeks to cut costs in order to bridge its budget deficit amid a crippling financial crisis.
The payroll has gone biometric, electronically registering all employees in order to eliminate double salary takers or ghost employees. The government is also working on going digital.
A reform bill currently before parliament will introduce further financial changes.
“The duty of the government consists of protecting the life and property of citizens and providing private and public services,” Deputy KRG Prime Minister Qubad Talabani told ministry officials, explaining the new Khizmat (service) project on Thursday, according to an official statement.
Khizmat will include all public and private services provided by the KRG directly or indirectly, he explained.
“The aim of the Khizmat project is to improve the level of services and decrease bureaucracy in the institutions of the regional government when taking care of people’s affairs,” the KRG’s statement added.
Talabani expressed hope that the size of the government would shrink as ministries and departments manage their affairs through “a new and proper structure.” The KRG has been widely criticized for its oversized employee roll.
An advisor to Talabani said Khizmat teams are ready to work. “We will do our best for the different sectors and institutions of the government to work with this new system as soon as possible,” Safeen Ghafour said in a statement.
Khizmat is the latest in a series of reforms that are currently being worked on or have already been implemented as the KRG seeks to cut costs in order to bridge its budget deficit amid a crippling financial crisis.
The payroll has gone biometric, electronically registering all employees in order to eliminate double salary takers or ghost employees. The government is also working on going digital.
A reform bill currently before parliament will introduce further financial changes.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment