22.02.2012

"Public administration bonuses should be regulated and transparent, should not be linked to revenue from administrative fees and charges but should be awarded for a well-done job", said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Simeon Djankov on the Bulgarian National Television. These proposals are included in the amendments to the Civil Servant Act as approved by the Council of Ministers in November 2011 and submitted for consideration by the National Assembly, recalled the Deputy Prime Minister with regard to the latest tensions in connection with the bonuses received by top management civil servants. The administrative reform of the Government is aimed at less but better paid public administration staff, and in order to bring the reform to an end, it is the amendments to the Civil Servant Act that need to be approved by the National Assembly, summarized Minister Djankov.

The Finance Minister also explained that it was the Ministry of Finance that had legislative powers to initiate any transformations to the banking sector. An alignment of positions with commercial banks has already been reached and the wording of two of the proposals, i.e. for regulation of loans below BGN 400 and introduction of a basic interest rate, has already been drafted, Minister Djankov further clarified. Those amendments were soon to be presented for public discussions. According to the Minister the charges and the interest rates needed better regulation with a view to their determination in a more transparent way. Should all banks operate under the same rules and these rules are monitored, then there would be greater competitiveness, added Djankov.

Minister Djankov said on BNT that the concerns about the fiscal reserve were justifiable and explained that this reserve was diminishing at the start of each year. The reasons for this are the usual payments of government debt interest rates in January and the additional around BGN 1 billion paid to the sector of agriculture in the first month of this year. The Minister mentioned that currently the fiscal reserve exceeded BGN 4 billion and it would increase by the end of the first quarter. "There is no drama with the fiscal reserve", said the Finance Minister.

Simeon Djankov rejected the criticism towards his amendments to the so-called Silver Fund in view of its more active management. He justified himself by saying that conservative Fund management generated losses of around BGN 50 million every year. The legislative amendments would allow for the prevention of future losses and would generate higher yield with prudent investment including government securities, added the Deputy Prime Minister.