Govt increases civil servant quota for 2020

The government has announced a new intake of civil servants across the country in 2020 with the new quota set at about 2,000.
This figure is up from the quota of 1,500 people in 2019 but still down from the 3,000 new civil servants hired in 2018.
The number for 2020 was revealed in the Prime Minister’s directive issued on December 19.
The specific number of civil servants will be allocated to government bodies at the central and local levels before July 2020.
The Prime Minister’s decision has assigned the Civil Servant Management Department, Ministry of Home Affairs, to coordinate the new civil servant quota allocations to line ministries and government bodies.
A total of 1,070 civil servants will be provided for the Ministry of Education and Sports, with 1,040 spots assigned specifically for teachers, and 300 for the Ministry of Health. These two ministries have been allocated more staff than other sectors.
Some 51 civil servants will be allotted for the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and 38 for the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, with the remaining quota divvied up among other ministries and provinces.
Civil servant numbers in many state departments have been excessive, leaving a heavy burden on state spending for salaries, supporting allowances and related expenditure, a survey revealed.
Many departments and divisions were found to be recruiting too many officials compared to the actual work undertaken, according to an official in the Governance Development Department of the Ministry of Home Affairs in charge of carrying out the survey.
To ensure that an appropriate number of civil servants is targeted to the most needy sectors in 2020, authorities will inspect the management of civil servants at each ministry.
The government has called on all sectors from central to local levels to review all positions currently held, identifying those that are necessary and those that are not.
The overarching objective is for government departments to produce officials who are fully employed and can multi-task.
In 2018, Laos had about 184,000 civil servants representing 2.8 percent of the total population which is deemed to be excessive.
More than 26,000 civil servants work at the central level and 165,900 at the local level. More than 36,000 civil servants work for provincial authorities and 120,700 for district authorities.
Civil servants’ salaries account for 40 percent of state expenditure in many countries, but in Laos the figure was around 50 percent in 2018.

By Keoviengkhone Bounviseth
(Latest Update December 30, 2019)