The high number of political appointments in public administration is still a problem in Romania, according to Belgian Ambassador to Romania and Moldova Philippe Beke (picture, left).

“I think there is still work to be done here. Before someone is appointed director, he should have a status and pass an exam. It’s not normal to name a director that has no diploma, who is not capable of filling such a position. I discovered this problem here in 2011 and it still exists today,” said Beke, who reached the end of his four-year mandate, in an interview for local Mediafax.

He also said there was no reason why Romania should not succeed in carrying on the decentralization process. He added that Romania also needed to improve its public auctions legislation rapidly, as the corruption in this sector was still high.

On the positive side, he noted that Romania’s justice system has seen improvements. However, Romanian politicians still need to learn to take responsibility for their actions and not insist on extending immunity, the diplomat added.

“They should make politics not money when they work in the Parliament,” Beke concluded.

editor@romania-insider.com

(photo source: presidency.ro)