Cabinet to slash civil service jobs

The Cabinet yesterday approved a draft of the Executive Yuan Organization Act (行政院組織法) that would downsize the Cabinet from the current 35 administrative entities to 23 plus four independent institutions.

Going a step further, the Cabinet approved a separate draft bill yesterday that would set the ceiling for the total number of public servants working at the central government at 200,500.

If approved, more than 14,000 pubic servants employed by the central government will see their jobs disappear over the next two years, a move that will cost the government an estimated NT$4 billion in severance.

Also yesterday, the Cabinet approved another draft bill that provides a legal basis for the central government to establish independent institutions and related subdivisions.

All three bills will proceed to the Legislative Yuan for further review and final approval. The Cabinet hopes the three bills will be passed into law during the current legislative session.

Government reform is one of President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) key campaign promises. He has said that he hopes the Cabinet can complete the bills for the legislature's review by the end of the month and implement them by May 20, 2004, when his term expires.

Before the laws take effect, the Cabinet will set up a task force under the supervision of the Cabinet's Research, Development and Evaluation Commission (研考會) to take charge of the downsizing plan.

Addressing the press conference after the weekly closed-door Cabinet affairs meeting, Cabinet spokesman Chuang Suo-hang (莊碩漢) quoted Premier Yu Shyi-kun as saying that the approval of the three bills demonstrates the Cabinet's determination to push for government reform.

"Government reform is a complicated and difficult task. The premier will be happy to see it materialize as talks on the issue have dragged on for more than a decade," Chuang said.

Chuang added that the Cabinet hopes the three bills will set a foundation for a central government that is "more effective, more responsible, and more responsive to social change."

"The three bills are the brainchild of the 25-member Government Reform Committee, which is composed of people from academic and business circles and the Cabinet," Chuang said.

"It pushes government reform a giant step forward."

Under the draft Executive Yuan Organization Act, the Cabinet's current 36 administrative entities would be whittled down to 23 plus four independent institutions.

The 23 entities consist of 15 ministries, six councils, and two administrations. In addition to the seven existing ministries, eight new ministries would be established.

The are: the Ministry of Cultural and Sports Affairs, Ministry of Agricultural Affairs, Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Ministry of Labor and Human Resources, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Ministry of Environmental Resources, Ministry of Telecommunications and Transportation, and Ministry of Economy and Trade.

The Vocational Assistance Commission for Retired Servicemen would be upgraded to become the Ministry of Retired Servicemen Affairs.

The six councils include the Council of Aboriginal Affairs, Council for Hakka Affairs, Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission, Mainland Affairs Council, all of which are already in existence.

The two new councils are the National Development Council and the Technology Council. The two administrations are the Budget, Accounting and Statistics Administration and the Personnel Administration.