Undersecretariats are coming back
Following the completion of the 8th Ordinary Grand Congress of the AK Party, the significant changes in the Central Executive Board (MKYK), which is the party showcase, and the renewal of the Central Executive Board, significant changes were also expected in the Parliamentary Group Management and the Presidential Cabinet.
It is stated that the cabinet change will be made after the two-year term of the ministers ends in June. As with MPs, ministers can obtain their vested rights after their two-year term.
Along with the change in the cabinet, another important study is being carried out in the public bureaucracy. According to the draft study conducted on the need, it is planned to bring back the ministry undersecretariats, which are one of the most important bureaucratic mechanisms in the parliamentary system and represent the mind and memory of the state.
This regulation will be a significant revision in the Presidential Government System. Opinions were received from relevant institutions regarding the study. Preparations were also made for the appropriate legislative amendment. With the new system, the Undersecretariat of the Prime Ministry and the undersecretaries of the ministries were also abolished. With the draft study, the job description, authorities and staff description of the undersecretaries, and staff tables will also be re-established.
With the return of the undersecretaries, the number of deputy ministers should also be reduced and their areas of duty should be redefined together with the undersecretaries. According to the draft study, the number of deputy ministers, currently four, is planned to be reduced to 1. No final decision has been made on this issue yet, but those conducting the study argue that one deputy minister together with one deputy minister will be sufficient.
At the end of last year, the “Presidential Administrative Affairs Directorate” was abolished by the Presidential Decree and replaced by the “Presidential General Secretariat” as before.
It was also regulated by the Presidential Decree that all references made to the Presidency of Administrative Affairs in the legislation would be deemed to have been made to the Presidency General Secretariat. The Presidency General Secretariat should also be considered as the Prime Ministry Undersecretary of the old system.
It is planned that the organizational structure of the ministry undersecretaries will be regulated by a presidential decree, and their position definition, authority, title and personal rights will be regulated by law.
THE MINDS AND MEMORY OF THE STATE
In Turkish public administrative law, the institution of undersecretary, which was the highest-level expert officer of the state in the parliamentary system, was abolished with the Presidential Government System. Deputy ministers were brought to fill the vacancy in the places of undersecretaries, but deputy ministers did not provide the desired contribution.
In the old system, the Undersecretary of the Prime Ministry was the highest-ranking civil servant and the personal rights of other high-ranking bureaucrats were determined according to the Undersecretary of the Prime Ministry. The Undersecretary of the Prime Ministry was the only person with the authority to sign on behalf of the Prime Minister in public administration.
The undersecretaries of the ministry were also the highest ranking public administrators in a ministry after the minister. In its literal meaning, it means the person from whom information is received and consulted. The undersecretary was the most authorized person in the bureaucracy after the minister and was appointed to this position after completing a certain period of time in the civil service. In a sense, he was considered the mind and memory of the state. The undersecretary, who was a civil servant, was the minister's assistant and advisor, and also played an important role in determining the institution's policies and strategies. He was also responsible for the management of the ministry's plans, programs and projects. The undersecretary was also responsible for the control and effective execution of the institution's routine work.
Let's see if the state's intelligence and memory, which has been interrupted to a certain extent, can be brought back by re-establishing the undersecretariat mechanism.
Habertürk
