MOSCOW, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin approved Monday an order to start a governance reform from Jan. 1, 2021.
The reform had previously been postponed due to a number of reasons, including the COVID-19 pandemic, but could no longer be delayed, Mishustin said during a meeting with his deputy prime ministers.
He said the structural reform will help build optimization and ensure that every government official commits to clearly defined responsibilities as 20 percent of positions within ministries are currently vacant.
According to the order, staff within the central administrative office will be reduced by 5 percent, and within the territorial governments by 10 percent.
"All these measures will improve the efficiency of the executive branch," the prime minister noted.
A special working group will be formed to deal with matters related to the reform procedure.
"The reorganization is planned to be completed by April 1, 2021," he added.
In a recent government reshuffle, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order to increase the number of deputy prime ministers from nine to ten. Enditem
