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2007 Assessment

Ecuador: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Ecuador: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Civil Service Regulations
Indicators		Score
41	Are there national regulations for the civil service encompassing, at least, the managerial and professional staff?	75
42	Is the law governing the administration and civil service effective?	58
43	Are there regulations addressing conflicts of interest for civil servants?	25
44	Can citizens access the asset disclosure records of senior civil servants?	33

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Are there national regulations for the civil service encompassing, at least, the managerial and professional staff?

41a: In law, there are regulations requiring an impartial, independent and fairly managed civil service.

Score:

YES

Comments: The goal of the civil service law is that the civil servants have qualities like: impartiality, independence but mainly effectiveness. Additionally the law determines that the General Controller of the State (CGE--Contraloria General del Estado) must investigate and evaluate in terms of cost and time, the legality, effectiveness and transparency, of the public civil servants.

References: Article 2 Ley Orgánica de Servicio Civil y Carrera Administrativa.

Article 31 No.4 Ley Orgánica de la Contraloría General del Estado.

Article 4 No.4 Norma Técnica del SENRES.

41b: In law, there are regulations to prevent nepotism, cronyism, and patronage within the civil service.

Score:

YES

Comments: The law prohibits to hire or to designate family members of the dignitary or civil servant in the same organization.

Additionally article 125 inc.2 of the National Constitution of Ecuador prohibit nepotism.

References: National Constitution Article 125 Article 7 of the Ley Orgánica de Servicio Civil y Carrera Administrativa.

41c: In law, there is an independent redress mechanism for the civil service.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there is a mechanism to which civil servants and applicants for the civil service can take grievances regarding civil service management actions. Civil servants are able to appeal the mechanism\'s decisions to the judiciary. NO: A NO score is earned if no such mechanism exists.$

Comments: The law does not establish this one mechanism explicitly. Depending on the damage, civil servants could use the Labor Law, the Civil Service Law, the Penal Code, etc. The Tribunal Constitutional would be an outside mechanism of last resort.

References: National Constitution: Article 23. No. 5

Peer Review Comments: Civil servants can take grievances regarding civil service management actions to the Constitutional Tribunal.

41d: In law, civil servants convicted of corruption are prohibited from future government employment.

Score:

YES

Comments: Article 50 of the civil service law indicates, that the civil servants convicted of corruption will not be able to exert functions for a period of two years, but once finished that time will be able to appeal and to enter in the public sector again. But re-entry will not be able to occur in the same institution of the State, of which he or she was dismissed. In cases of the use of public resources to gain personal benefits or bribes, they will never be able to return on the public sector.

References: Article 16 Ley de Servicio Civil y Carrera Administrativa.

Article 49 lit.c) Ley de Servicio Civil y Carrera Administrativa. (Causales de destitución)

Article 50 Ley de Servicio Civil y Carrera Administrativa.

Is the law governing the administration and civil service effective?

42a: In practice, civil servants are protected from political interference.

Score:

100

Comments: Civil servants in Ecuador do not have complete independence from political interference, the heads of different branches in the public sector, public´s enterprises, and ministries, have an influence at the civil servants' level. Notwithstanding, the Secretaría Nacional de Remuneraciones (SENRES), is the Agency of Administration and Regulation of the civil servants. Political interference is less limited, because SENRES has jurisdiction over civil servants.

References: Interview with Lcdo Juan Rosero, Coordinador Recursos Humanos (SENRES).

Peer Review Comments: Cases of civil servants being influenced by political or personal matters are sadly common in Ecuador. A better information source would be the Civic Commission of Corruption Control (CCCC Comisión de Control Cívico de la Corrupción) and the Congress's Fiscalization Commission (Comisión de Fiscalización del Congreso Nacional).

42b: In practice, civil servants are appointed and evaluated according to professional criteria.

Score:

100

Comments: The agency that is in charge of evaluating, training, and appointments is the SENRES (Secretaría Nacional de Remuneraciones). The SENRES has legal function at the beginning of February of 2006; prior the Institutions of the Public Sector had their own criteria of appointments, hirings, and evaluation.SENRES provides a general criterion, but each institution applies this one norm.

There are few institutions in the public sector, which technical skills and experience are key factors for making appointments. Institutions like Banco Central, Servicio de Rentas Internas (SRI), and Contraloría General del Estado and Procuraduría make public concourses to fulfill their jobs.

There are approximately 3,000 posts. Once President Rafael Correa assumed the presidency he filled jobs based on professional criterion, not necessarily because of policical or party relationships.

References: Informe de Sociedad Civil, Segunda Ronda de Evaluación CICC, Corporación Latinoamericana para el Desarrollo CLD, julio 2006. [ LINK ]

Lcdo Juan Rosero, Coordinador Recursos Humanos (SENRES).

42c: In practice, civil service management actions (e.g. hiring, firing, promotions) are not based on nepotism, cronyism, or patronage.

Score:

100

Comments: Actually Hirings, firings, and promotions of the civil servants are based on merit and performance. SENRES has begun to regulate hiring, firing and promotions between the public institutions.

References: [ LINK ] Lcdo Juan Rosero, Coordinador Recursos Humanos (SENRES).

Peer Review Comments: Nepotism in civil service has been a common practice in Ecuador. During the period of study, there have been fewer cases than usual at the higher levels of civil service, but is still quite frequent in regional and local governmental agencies. A better information source would be the Civic Commission of Corruption Control (CCCC Comisión de Control Cívico de la Corrupción) and the recently created National Anti-Corruption Secretary (Secretaría Nacional Anticorrupción).

42d: In practice, civil servants have clear job descriptions.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: Civil servants almost always have formal job descriptions establishing levels of seniority, assigned functions, and compensation. Job descriptions are a reliable means to map positions to both human capital requirements (including the position\'s authority and responsibilities) and base pay. 50 Score Criteria: Civil servants often have formal job descriptions, but exceptions exist. Some civil servants may not be part of the formal assignment of duties and compensations. Some job descriptions may not map clearly to pay or responsibilities in some cases. 0 Score Criteria: Civil servants do not have formal roles or job descriptions. If they do, such job descriptions have little or nothing to do with the position\'s responsibilities, authority, or pay.$

Comments: A clear definition of job descriptions, assigned functions and payments between civil servants in all public institutions are the exception. Each institution of the public sector must have a manual of classification of jobs. This manual must indicate the profile and activities of the civil servants.

References: [ LINK ]

[ LINK ] Lcdo Juan Rosero, Coordinador Recursos Humanos (SENRES).

42e: In practice, civil servant bonuses constitute only a small faction of total pay.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: Civil servant bonuses constitute no more than 10% of total pay and do not represent a major element of take-home pay. 50 Score Criteria: Civil servant bonuses are generally a small percentage of total take-home pay for most civil servants though exceptions exist where some civil servants\' bonuses represent a significant part of total pay. 0 Score Criteria: Most civil servants receive bonuses that represent a significant amount of total take-home pay. In some cases bonuses represent the majority of total pay to civil servants.$

Comments: There are instances when civil servants receive bonuses. Nerveless, these bonuses are not a significant part of their payment. The civil servants has unified monthly renumeration ) , in this payment, there are not any type of bonus.

Additionally a process of establishing scales of remuneration according to the occupational category has been developed.The occupational categories are: Auxiliar de servicios, Asistente Administrativo A, Asistente Administrativo B, Asistente Administrativo C, Técnico A, Técnico B, Profesional, Profesional 1, Profesional 2, Profesional 3, Profesional 4, Profesional 5 y Profesional 6.

There are institutions like: Pacifictel and Petroecuador in which the workpeople through collective contracts have bonds and awards. Their salaries are significantly major than an average salary in the public sector

References: Lcdo Juan Rosero, Coordinador Recursos Humanos (SENRES).

12/26/2006 [ LINK ] Fin de Megasueldos.

Peer Review Comments: Recent corruption scandals in Ecuador include exorbitant bonuses for civil servants who belong to institutions like Pacifictel, Petroecuador and even Congress. A better source of information would be the Civic Commission of Corruption Control (CCCC Comisión de Control Cívico de la Corrupción).

42f: In practice, the government publishes the number of authorized civil service positions along with the number of positions actually filled.

Score:

100

Comments: The SENRES publishes this list, notwithstanding this list groups by sectors, and the sectors are not divided by positions.

This list is the total civil servants by sectors like: legislative sector, national defense, administrative sector, etc.

References: www.senres.gov.ec

[ LINK ]

42g: In practice, the independent redress mechanism for the civil service is effective.

Score:

100

Comments: This mechanism is carried out by the Unit of Evauatuion and Control within SENRES. This unit establishes what public institutions that could be investigated.

References: Lcdo Juan Rosero, Coordinador Recursos Humanos (SENRES).

42h: In practice, in the past year, the government has paid civil servants on time.

Score:

100

Comments: Once Rafael Correa begun his presidency, they received US$900 million in delays. There were some delays in the last presidency, but the priority of the actual government is to fulfill with principal obligations like: health, education, etc, and not necessarily with external obligation (debt).

References: 03/01/07 www.hoy.com.ec ENTREVISTA CON RICARDO PATIÑO:"Pediré a Contraloría investigar atrasos"

42i: In practice, civil servants convicted of corruption are prohibited from future government employment.

Score:

100

Comments: The law exists; there are not reported cases of civil servants being convicted of corruption that have come back to public sector.

Additionally a cooling off period of two years is applied to civil servants convicted of corruption.

References: Lcdo Juan Rosero, Coordinador Recursos Humanos (SENRES).

Peer Review Comments: The most visible case in the last year concerns former Minister of Economy, Ricardo Patiño, who was censored in Congress and then shortly afterward was named Minister of the Coastal Areas. A better information source would be the Civic Commission of Corruption Control (CCCC Comisión de Control Cívico de la Corrupción).

Are there regulations addressing conflicts of interest for civil servants?

43a: In law, there are requirements for civil servants to recuse themselves from policy decisions where their personal interests may be affected.

Score:

YES

Comments: The civil servants must take cares that, they can not use privileged information to gain personal benefits.

References: These laws do not exist explicitly.

Peer Review Comments: These laws do exist. A better source of information would be National Congress and Congress's Fiscalization Commission (Comisión de Fiscalización del Congreso Nacional).

43b: In law, there are restrictions for civil servants entering the private sector after leaving the government.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there are regulations restricting civil servants\' ability to take positions in the private sector after leaving government that would present a conflict of interest, including positions that directly seek to influence their former government colleagues. NO: A NO score is earned if no such restrictions exist.$

Comments: It is a civil right and therefore once finished his period he/she can take any private position freely.tthe law prohibits the performing of two public functions at the same time, except for the case of university teaching.

References: National Consitution: Article 125 and Article 23, No. 3 Article 12 Ley Orgánica de Servicio Civil y Carrera Administrativa

43c: In law, there are regulations governing gifts and hospitality offered to civil servants.

Score:

YES

Comments: The members of the civil service cannot accept gifts of any nature.

References: National Consitution: Article 121

Articles 285 and 264 from codigo pena

Peer Review Comments: The articles that penalize gift-giving to civil servants establish that it is illegal to demand something that is not legally owed.

43d: In practice, the regulations restricting post-government private sector employment for civil servants are effective.

Score:

100

Comments: There are not such regulations.

References: Personal Criterion

43e: In practice, the regulations governing gifts and hospitality offered to civil servants are effective.

Score:

100

Comments: The research work of Auditoria para la Democracia Ecuador 2006 indicates that the corruption is a daily event and arrives at all levels.

References: Personal Criterion. Interview with Lcdo Juan Rosero, Coordinador Recursos Humanos (SENRES).

43f: In practice, the requirements for civil service recusal from policy decisions affecting personal interests are effective.

Score:

100

Comments: The law explicitly does not prohibit it, but the civil servants should not use privileged information for personal use.

References: Interview with Lcdo Juan Rosero, Coordinador Recursos Humanos (SENRES).

Can citizens access the asset disclosure records of senior civil servants?

44a: In law, citizens can access the asset disclosure records of senior civil servants.

Score:

YES

Comments: The article 94 of the National Constitution consecrates the right of Habeas Data like a constitutional resource to accede to the documentation that is required. The Ley de Transparencia y Acceso a la Información Pública establishes several mechanisms to accede to the public information, by the principle of publicity and public information. This law considers public information like documents in any format, that are safekeeping inside public institutions or other institutions referred in this law. The law has jurisdiction over all documents obtained with resources of the states or that are under their responsibility, and independent of the time at which was created. Article 81 from the Political Constitution of Ecuador, guarantees the access to the information except on national defense.

References: Article 94 CN, (Habeas Data). Article 81 CN Article 4 Ley de Transparencia y Acceso a la Información Pública.

Peer Review Comments: Public Information Access Law contemplates this possibility. A better information source would be the Coalition of Information Access (Coalición de acceso a la información).

44b: In practice, citizens can access the asset disclosure records of senior civil servants within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: The National Constitution theoretically guarantees access to public information. But not all civil servants have the obligation to declare their assets.

References: Interview with Lcdo Juan Rosero, Coordinador Recursos Humanos (SENRES).

Peer Review Comments: The Constitution of 1998 established the obligation of civil servants to disclose their assets, according to their rank. Citizens, journalists and CSO's can access this information by following a procedure that can become troublesome.

44c: In practice, citizens can access the asset disclosure records of senior civil servants at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments: Some senior civil servants like the General Prosecutor, the President of the Justice Court are obligated to disclosure their assets. But in practice citizen access to even a limited number of these disclosures is extremely burdonesome.

References: Interview with Lcdo Juan Rosero, Coordinador Recursos Humanos (SENRES).

Peer Review Comments: Retrieving these records is not impossible, but there are a number of steps to follow. A better information source would be the Coalition of Information Access (Coalición de acceso a la información).