Russia needs a more stringent selection process for its government staff in order to weed out those unsuitable for public office, Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin said on Thursday.
“Our modern state apparatus has numerous problems, including those that are financial and organizational, human resources-related, and even those of a criminal nature,” he said.
“Leaving these problems unresolved is fraught with grave risks, for the development of our state and our society,” Naryshkin said, speaking at the Russian Civil Service: Development and Human Capital Management forum.
“We need to be stricter about our approach to choosing staff and reject those who don’t meet the standards for public office,” he said, adding that the “prestige of all our systems of state administration” was at stake.
Naryshkin said that civil servants needed a clear career path and proper reward. “I do not just mean their wages, but also career growth prospects. They should have a sense of the importance and prestige of this work and not just the fear of losing their job and punishment.”
Russia has been listed as one of most corrupt nations in the developed world, ranked at 143 of 182 nations in a 2011 Transparency International survey. Opinion polls regularly record a widespread public fear and distrust of state officials at all levels.