DUSHANBE , February 24, Asia-Plus - On Thursday February 23, the World Bank Country Office hosted a meeting to present the Tajikistan Civil and Public Service Wage Note to the Government decision-makers and representatives of international organizations. 

According to information from the WB Dushanbe Office, the objective of the event was to present findings and conclusions of the note in the context of the initiated civil service pay reform, and planned wage reforms in the health and education sectors. 

It was noted that Public Sector institutions in Tajikistan were in urgent need of reform and investment.  More than a decade of incremental reforms on the margin, combined with both a nominal and relative decline in wage levels have made public sector positions largely unattractive, especially for young talented staff, and has led to a gradual brain drain from all parts of the public sector. If not addressed, this will negatively affect growth patterns in Tajikistan .  

If Tajikistan is to sustain growth levels, it is essential for the country to design and gradually implement a multi-faceted economic and institutional reform agenda to increase competitiveness levels and enhance the investment climate in the country. This study focuses on the institutional development aspects of this agenda, particularly creating, enabling conditions for capacity development through wage system reform.

The Note was prepared by a World Bank Team headed by Mr. Tony Verheijen, Senior Public Sector Management Specialist, in close cooperation with the Executive Office of the President of Tajikistan, the Ministry of Finance, the Civil Service Department, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection and the Ministries of Health and Education.

“The Tajik authorities have reached the point where there is a clear understanding of the need for a full overhaul of the public sector wage system, in the interest of strengthening the governance system and maintaining economic growth patterns” said Mr. Tony Verheijen, the Task Team Leader for the report, adding that “the initial reform steps taken over the last six months are promising, but a sustained effort will be needed over the coming five years to ensure that an essential, but politically difficult agenda is brought to successful completion”.

The core question addressed in this note is how in a context of limited macro-fiscal room for maneuver and with limited available capacity, the Tajik authorities can define both short and medium-term reform options to address some of the key distortions in the current public sector wage system, and build a system that will attract qualified staff and create incentives to enhanced public sector performance.

This study sets out a number of important measures for the Government to consider in the context of designing a medium-term wage strategy for the public sector. Wage system reforms should be designed according to a common set of principles, which include enhanced transparency, equitable treatment of individual civil and public servants, linking pay levels to complexity of work and level of responsibility, and needs-based use of scarce fiscal resources.

Analysis and advice are central to the World Bank’s efforts to support reform in Tajikistan . Its experts, jointly with the relevant Government agencies, produce a wide range of reports on various economic and sector themes. These reports provide an analysis of the current situation and give recommendations to the Government on moving forward on economic and sector reform.