The first session of the Commission tasked with analyzing and overseeing service contracts as well as contracts for temporary and occasional work within public sector entities funded by the state budget has been conducted. It was highlighted that these contracts are expected to be reduced by at least 20% by the end of 2025.

The Commission has implemented a standardized form for the submission of requests regarding service contracts and temporary or occasional work, which will be the basis for their evaluation.

All public sector entities must submit the Ministry of Finance’s approval for secured financial resources along with their requests.

The Commission determined that no public sector entity will receive state budget funds unless they adhere to the established procedures. The Ministry’s approval and the Commission’s consent will remain in effect for a period of three months.

This strategy aims to facilitate ongoing monitoring of engagements reliant on service contracts and contracts for temporary and occasional work. Branko Krvavac, the Commission’s president, stated that this marks the initial step towards a thorough optimization and rationalization of public administration.

Furthermore, the Commission pointed out that budget-funded entities have not submitted complete data regarding the current quantity of service contracts and contracts for temporary and occasional work. They have until 7 March 2025 to remedy this situation.

The upcoming phase will involve evaluating all existing contracts and requests for new ones. It is already evident that no hiring under service contracts or contracts for temporary and occasional work in public administration will occur without prior approval from the Ministry of Finance for the allocated budgetary resources, alongside the Commission’s approval, Krvavac stated.

By March of this year, the Commission anticipates having data on the reduction of service contracts and contracts for temporary and occasional work compared to December 2024, which serves as the reference month for these measures. Additionally, it will evaluate the associated decrease in budget spending.

The Commission’s objective is to create a mechanism for the systematic monitoring of the total number of engagements under service contracts and contracts for temporary and occasional work, along with their justification, ultimately aiming to diminish misuse and the improper allocation of budget resources for these purposes.