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2007 Assessment

Kyrgyz Republic: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Kyrgyz Republic: 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?	47
43	Are there regulations addressing conflicts of interest for civil servants?	54
44	Can citizens access the asset disclosure records of senior civil servants?	100

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 law stipulated that the Civil Service in Kyrgyzstan perform its functions on the basis of professionalism, competence, initiative and integrity.

References: The Law on Civil Service of 11 August, 2004, N 114, Article 4

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

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: The Law on Civil Service of 11 August, 2004, N 114, Article 11

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: Civil servants can apply to the Agency for Civil Service Affairs (for appeals against disciplinary decisions) or to a court (for both disciplinary issues and labor disputes).

References: The Law on Civil Service of 11 August, 2004, N 114, Articles 39 and 43

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

Score:

YES

Comments: Theoretically, civil servants convicted of corruption shall be deprived of the right to occupy certain positions or engage in certain activities for a period up to three years. However, according to legal experts, this is not enforceable because a clean record regarding corruption is not included in the list of requirements for administrative civil servants. For political civil servants (ministers, heads of agencies), there are no requirement at all. The only exclusions are made in law enforcement organizations where a system of blacklists exists. The Criminal Code is fundamentally inadequate for governing this area and provides no procedures for enforcing such a policy.

References: The Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic, Article 303

Is the law governing the administration and civil service effective?

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

Score:

100

Comments: The number of civil servants fired for political reasons is still high. In the period of April to June 2007, almost 70 percent of firings were due to personal reasons, and only 14 percent of all firings were at the initiative of the administrations.

References: Monitoring of State Strategy of Combating corruption, September, 2007, Bishkek

Report of the Civil Service Agency on Implementation of the Civil Service Law, June 2007, www.csa.gov.kg

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

Score:

100

Comments: Civil servants are still not all appointed through competitive processes. The Civil Service Agency reports on cases where some vacancies were filled illegally. Sometimes state bodies bypass the law by using short-term contracts instead of open competition.

References: Monitoring of State Strategy of Combating Corruption, September, 2007, Bishkek Report of the Civil Service Agency on Implementation of the Civil Service Law, June 2007, www.csa.gov.kg

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

Score:

100

Comments: Civil service appointments are now regionally based. According toformer member of parliament K. Baibolov, a massive turnover in the civil servants from the south of Kyrgyzstan has had a negative effect. This was caused by the fact that the former president of the Kyrgyzstan was from the northern of the country, while the current president was born in the South. Change at the top level leads to changes of civil servants at lower levels.

References: Bishkek Press Club, interview with Kubatbek Baibolov, Oct.16, 2007, www.bpc.kg

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: Functions and tasks of the state bodies are not clear and job descriptions of civil servants are very formal. Because ministries and agencies mostly perform different functions from those they are required to perform, civil servants usually perform different kinds of tasks in their day-to-day work, although formally they should be familiar with their actual job descriptions before they are appointed.

References: UNDP, Functional Analysis of Ministries and State Agencies: Methods and Approaches, 2003, www.undp.kg

Confidential source (expert in civil service)

Peer Review Comments: The Soviet heritage dictates some administrative duties, which do not correspond to the current situation.

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: Civil servants may have bonuses in amounts of up to 100 percent of their basic salary. These include: 50 percent bonus for irregular working hours, a bonus for civil service rank, four quarterly bonuses per year, an amount of salary for two months as a bonus for annual leave, and an amount of one month's salary as a material aid. All bonuses are included in the annual budget of a ministry or agency under the section titled "Salary."

There are many other benefits regulated for special kinds of civil servants, like prosecutors. In addition to their monthly salaries, prosecutors receive the following benefits under law:

1. 30 - 45 days of annual leave. depending on longevity, with allowances for additional leave 2. Housing allowance and temporary housing when needed 3. Public transportation certificates 4. Full pension at retirement 5. Disability insurance 6. Complimentary uniforms 7. Daycare, summer camp, and boarding school for minor dependents, and 8. Home telephone service.

References: President's Decree #196 as of 2000

American Bar Association, Prosecutoral Reform Index for Kyrgyzstan, March 2007

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

Score:

100

Comments: Reports are regularly published.

References: Monitoring of State Strategy of Combating Corruption, September 2007, Bishkek Report of the Civil Service Agency on Implementation of the Law on Civil Service, June 2007, www.csa.gov.kg

Peer Review Comments: The government announces 'vacant' positions which are already filled.

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

Score:

100

Comments: The Agency for Civil Service Affairs informs the heads of ministries and agencies about violations of lawwhen they take place, but it has no leverage to make sure that their recommendations are followed. The Agency conducts investigations, but its powers sometimes are not enough to conclude them effectively.

References: Monitoring of State Strategy of Combating Corruption, September 2007, Bishkek

Confidential source (expert in civil service law)

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

Score:

100

Comments: Usually civil servants get paid on time, although some exceptions may occur.

References: Confidential source (expert in civil service law)

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

Score:

100

Comments: According to K. Baibolov, there are many cases when convicted civil servants are appointed. According to legal experts, this happens because a clean record regarding corruption is not included in the list of requirements for administrative civil servants. For political civil servants (ministers, heads of agencies), there are no requirements at all. The only exclusions are made in law enforcement organizations where a system of blacklists exists.

References: Bishkek Press Club, interview with former member of the parliament Kubatbek Baibolov, Oct. 16, 2007, www.bpc.kg

Interview with a civil service law expert (confidential source)

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: A civil servant who is aware of conflicts of interest shall take measures to prevent it. Usually they are requested to inform their top managers about conflicts of interests.

References: The Law on Civil Service, Article 9

The Law on Fight Against Corruption, Article 11.

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: The Civil Service Law restricts relationships with the private sector only while civil servants are in service and one year after they leave the office, but these restrictions are for administrative civil servants only. Ministers and other political appointees are not bound by this rule.

References: The Law on Civil Service of the Kyrgyz Republic, Article 11

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

Score:

YES

Comments: According to both laws, the administrative civil servants shall not accept any kind of gift or hospitality in connection with fulfillment of their official duties.

References: The Law on Civil Service of 11 August, 2004, N 114, Article 11

The Law on Fighting against Corruption, 6 March, 2003, N 51, Article 12

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

Score:

100

Comments: Current guidelines are very generic, and there is no procedure and staff to enforce such a provision. Anyway, the cooling-off period of one year is too short.

References: Confidential source (expert in civil service law)

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

Score:

100

Comments: The regulations are not effective, since they do not provide civil servants or their management with the clear definitions of gifts, hospitality or other benefits. There are no regulations on what civil servants should do if they are approached with gifts or other illegal proposals.

References: Confidential source (expert in civil service law)

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

Score:

100

Comments: The recusal requirements are ignored because of the absence of mechanisms to control conflicts of interest.

References: Confidential source (expert in civil service law)

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: There is information that is private and cannot be published (i.e., home address of the civil servants).

References: The Law on Declaring Information on Income and Assets, Liabilities and Property of Political and Other Special State Appointees and Their Immediate Family Members of 30 June, 2004, Article 6

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

Score:

100

Comments: Records are available online.

References: Report of the Civil Service Agency on Implementation of the Law on Civil Service, June 2007, www.csa.gov.kg

Confidential source (expert in civil service law)

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

Score:

100

Comments: Records can be obtained through the Internet. Many information Web sites also disseminate records in their media reports.

References: Monitoring of State Strategy of Combating Corruption, September 2007, Bishkek

Report of the Civil Service Agency on Implementation of the Law on Civil Service, June 2007, www.csa.gov.kg