Government unveils First phase of Public Administration Reform
The government has pledged to ensure that “from now on it is compulsory for all State departments” to have a “daily service without appointment, in person” and that documents can be delivered “that were not previously scheduled”.
Prime Minister Luís Montenegro made the announcement following the Council of Ministers held yesterday.
This is part of the “First Phase of Public Administration Reform” – a document presented at the meeting that sets out to pave the way towards a “more balanced response” between the prior booking of appointments and those that can happen ‘on the spot’ (as used to be the case pre-pandemic).
“Since the pandemic, many public offices have made life more difficult for citizens”, he conceded. Citizens “often find themselves in services with no face-to-face attendance available; others with the requirement for appointments “that take a long time”.
Thus the government’s focus on returning to pre-pandemic ‘status quo’, in which citizens could walk into a State service, take a ‘number’ and wait to be attended.
“We are also going to analyse the cases in which congestion has been greater and which has caused delays in public administration,” said the PM, before handing the floor over to Minister of the Presidency António Leitão Amaro, who has coordinated the work of this first phase of the reform.
During questions from the floor – limited to three – Leitão Amaro admitted some State services have already returned to a ‘balanced combination’ of walk-in attendance, and prior-booked appointments.
“But, as a report by the Ombudsman said, there are many other services that are still living in the Covid era, not even open for mere delivery of documents to citizens who come there spontaneously,” he said, arguing that the goal is a “return to normality”, bearing in mind particularly the elderly and emigrés (who tend only to visit during the summer/ have limited time on national territory).
Leitão Amaro concluded that the Council of Ministers has given “a binding instruction” to all central State services” to ensure that “every day there is a time for attendance without an appointment”.
Source material: Lusa
en open for mere delivery of documents to citizens who come there spontaneously,” he said, arguing that the goal is a “return to normality”, bearing in mind particularly the elderly and emigrés (who tend only to visit during the summer/ have limited time on national territory).
Leitão Amaro concluded that the Council of Ministers has given “a binding instruction” to all central State services” to ensure that “every day there is a time for attendance without an appointment”.
Source material: Lusa
