The Cabinet yesterday officially approved draft amendments to a government structuring law to streamline the Executive Yuan's 36 agencies to 22, including 13 ministries, four commissions and five independent institutions.
The number of ministers without portfolio would also increase from nine to 11 and the Premier's Office would add five new departments to handle budget, hiring, information, legal and mainland issues.
PHOTO: YEH CHIH-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
The Cabinet hopes draft amendments to the Organic Law of the Executive Yuan (行政院組織法) will pass into law by the end of the year and to implement it by Jan. 1, 2006.
The Cabinet is required by the Standard Organic Law of Central Government Agencies (
Addressing the press conference held after the weekly closed-door Cabinet meeting yesterday morning, Premier Yu Shyi-kun said that he was glad the government restructuring project finally bore fruit because talks about the issue have been around for 17 years, ever since a task force was set up in August 1987 to study the plan.
"Today's approval of the draft amendments is a small step in our continuous reform efforts and marks a giant step toward the goal of a smaller and more efficient government," Yu said.
Under the draft, five new ministries would be established under the Executive Yuan on top of the eight particular ministries mandated by the Organic Law of the Executive Yuan.
The 13 ministries would cover interior and homeland security, foreign and overseas affairs, defense and retired soldiers, finance, education and sports, judicial matters, economy and trade, transportation and construction, labor and human resources, agriculture, public health and social security, culture and tourism, and environmental resources.
The four commissions would include the present Hakka and Aboriginal councils, a new national development and technology council and a maritime council. The Mainland Affairs Council would be abolished and its workings integrated with the Premier's Office and status upgraded.
The five independent entities would be the Central Bank of China, the Central Election Commission and the Fair Trade Commission (unchanged), as well as a new financial supervisory board and a new national communications commission.
Likening government organization to the structure of a house, Yeh Jiunn-rong (
"First is to strengthen the decision-making power of the Premier's Office, which is tantamount to the roof of a house," Yeh said.
"With the help of the four commissions and five new departments established under the Premier's Office, we hope to strengthen the office's cross-ministerial negotiations during its policy-making process."
Second is to consolidate the four commissions' cross-ministerial negotiation and coordination prowess.
"The four commissions are like the crossbeams of a house. Their mission is to serve as the premier's brains trust to map out and review policy proposals, conduct negations and allocate resources," Yeh said.
Third is to materialize ministries' function to execute government policies.
"The 13 ministries are similar to the pillars of a house. We don't want too many or too few of them and they should definitely not overlap," he said.
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