Yariv Levin
Ministerial committee decides on more political appointments
The committee recommends that senior appointments remain under the purview of search committees, but ministers will be able to circumvent that if they want to make a personal appointment.
The Ministerial Committee for the Public Sector released recommendations on Sunday that include increasing the number of political appointments available to government ministers.
The committee, headed by Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked (Bayit Yehudi ) and Minister of Tourism Yariv Levin (Likud), did also recommend that senior appointments remain under the purview of the search committee.
Ayelet Shaked (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)
The ministers further recommended that the search committee for senior appointments be reduced in members from five to three in a manner that would seemingly provide carte blanche for directors general: the relevant ministry’s director general, a representative from the Civil Service Commission, and a member of the public to be chosen by the director general in consultation with the CSC representative.
The search committee will be permitted to recommend from one to three candidates to the relevant minister. However, the minister can circumvent the search committee and make a personal appointment by applying for the same with the CSC’s State Service Committee.
The ministerial committee also decided that deputy director generals not be chosen by means of a tender, as is currently the case, but rather by a direct appointment of the minister. A draft resolution on this issue will be presented at the cabinet meeting next Sunday.
The justice minister commented, “The search committee’s work will be streamlined, shortened and present the ministers with excellent and professional candidates who will assist the minister in realizing his policies.”
(Translated and edited by J. Herzog)
