2016年-世界发展银行全球_Public_Employment_and_Governance_in_Middle_East_and_North_Africa_29页_485kb

Summary of Middle East and North Africa Public Employment and Governance

Core Content

This report examines the challenges and trends in public employment and governance in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with a focus on Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia. It highlights the structural and institutional issues that contribute to the rapid growth of public sector wage bills and the inefficiencies in public service delivery.

Main Points

• High Public Sector Wage Bills: The MENA region has the highest public sector wage bill as a share of GDP globally. In many countries, public sector employment accounts for 14% to 40% of all jobs, with government wages amounting to 9.8% of GDP.
• Public Sector as Employer of Last Resort: The public sector is often seen as a social protection mechanism, especially for youth and women, due to its relatively high job security and benefits. This has led to a preference for public sector jobs over private ones.
• Inefficient and Unproductive Employment: Despite the high number of public sector jobs, many are unproductive. Issues such as absenteeism, low performance, and "double-dipping" (where employees receive both salary and benefits without performing adequately) are widespread.
• Legal Framework and Institutional Factors: Public service laws in the region are often outdated and inconsistent, reflecting different legal traditions. While these laws emphasize merit-based recruitment and promotion, in practice, seniority and connections often determine career progression.
• Institutional Weaknesses: The institutional framework for public service management is weak, with public service agencies often lacking strategic oversight and integration with financial planning. The Ministry of Finance is typically not involved in staffing decisions, leading to misalignment between budgeting and employment growth.
• Impact of Political Factors: Political leaders have historically used public employment as a tool to reward supporters, provide social protection, and manage political instability. This has led to excessive hiring and an unsustainable wage bill.
• Performance and Pay Systems: Public sector pay systems are complex and non-transparent, with base pay supplemented by various allowances. Performance evaluations are often ad hoc, and there is a lack of clear link between performance, compensation, and promotion.
• Reform Efforts: Some reform initiatives have been introduced, aiming to improve performance and reduce wage bill growth. However, these efforts have been limited by institutional inertia, weak governance, and the influence of vested interests.
• Need for Comprehensive Reform: The report emphasizes the need for both short-term wage bill containment strategies and long-term public sector management reforms to improve productivity and efficiency.

Key Information

• Wage Bill Trends: The wage bill to GDP ratio in MENA countries has increased in recent years, suggesting that the growth has not yet peaked. This trend is associated with worsening fiscal deficits, particularly in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia.
• Legal Frameworks:
  • Egypt: The first modern civil service law was enacted in 1951, and the most recent is Law 18 of 2015. The law provides for a graduated disciplinary system but does not allow for staff termination if positions are eliminated.
  • Tunisia: The Statut General de la Function Publique (SGFP) of 1983 outlines a career-based system, but performance assessments are often ad hoc.
  • Morocco: The SGFP of 1958 provides for a career-based system with a focus on equal access, but in practice, seniority determines promotions and performance assessments are not rigorous.
• Institutional Challenges:
  • Public service agencies often operate semi-autonomously and are not well integrated with financial planning.
  • The lack of a strategic approach to staffing and pay leads to unsustainable growth and inefficiency.
  • The role of the Ministry of Finance is often passive, resulting in misalignment between staffing and budgeting.
• Bureaucratic Culture: The culture within the public sector discourages performance and initiative, with a tendency towards seniority-based promotions and lack of accountability.
• Reform Initiatives:
  • Some countries have initiated reforms, such as Morocco's public service pay reform project, which aims to link pay to functions rather than ranks.
  • However, these reforms are often incremental and not transformative due to the influence of vested interests and lack of political will.

Conclusion

The report concludes that while legal frameworks exist to support merit-based public service, their implementation is often weak. Institutional factors, including weak HR controls, political interference, and a lack of strategic integration with financial planning, are major contributors to the unsustainable growth of public sector wage bills. The way forward involves both short-term fiscal discipline and long-term institutional reforms to improve public sector performance and efficiency.