Latest news with #CivilService
Shafaq News
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Iraqi lawmaker: 100+ laws on shelf in Parliament
Shafaq News – Baghdad Iraq's Parliament has stalled more than 100 draft laws, a member of the Parliamentary Legal Committee revealed on Wednesday. Abdul Karim Abtan told Shafaq News that Parliament remains effectively paralyzed and unable to meet, predicting these bills — including the Federal Supreme Court Law, Oil and Gas legislation, the Mandatory Military Service bill, and the Civil Service framework — will likely be deferred to the next term if the stalemate continues. Earlier, Mukhtar al-Moussawi of the Parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee blamed divisions within Iraq's ruling State Administration Coalition for blocking other key measures, including the Federal Budget Law and the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) Law.
Saba Yemen
4 days ago
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
Deputy Prime Minister Al-Madani reviews Administrative Development Projects at Civil Service Ministry
Sana'a – Saba: Deputy Prime Minister for Administrative and Local Development and Rural Affairs, Mohammed Al-Madani, stressed the need to complete service manuals across various ministries, agencies, public service institutions, and lagging provinces. This came during his visit today to the Ministry of Civil Service and Administrative Development, where he reviewed administrative modernization projects and electronic systems being implemented by the ministry to improve the work environment, develop services, and streamline procedures for processing transactions in public service units at both central and local levels. Al-Madani discussed with the Minister of Civil Service, Dr. Khaled Al-Hawali, aspects related to finalizing the organizational structures for local authority units at the province and district levels. During the meeting, attended by his deputy Nasser Al-Mahdar, Al-Madani emphasized the importance of enhancing cooperation between the Ministry of Administrative and Local Development and the Ministry of Civil Service to complete projects aimed at developing work mechanisms in local authorities at the governorate and district levels. For his part, the Minister of Civil Service appreciated the Deputy Prime Minister's interest in following up on the administrative and organizational projects being implemented in the ministry's general office and other ministries, institutions, and local authority units, as they represent key requirements for the organizational and administrative framework of public service units. He affirmed that the ministry is working on multiple tracks in line with approved standards to develop service manuals, improve service quality, and simplify procedures—culminating in the establishment and launch of a digital platform for public services. This platform will include all services for public service units at both central and local levels (provinces and districts), enabling citizens to electronically request services from anywhere without the need for in-person visits. During the meeting, the Undersecretary for Information Sector, Ibrahim Al-Dar, presented the Unified Human Resources System, detailing its components and advantages, including aspects related to job discipline, employee performance evaluation, entitlements, and payroll processing. Meanwhile, the Undersecretary for Monitoring and Performance Evaluation, Abdullah Haydar, provided an explanation on the implementation path of the service development and procedure simplification project at local authority units, as well as the next steps to complete the project. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
Telegraph
25-06-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Downing Street offers tech experts higher salaries than Keir Starmer
Downing Street is attempting to hire high-flying tech developers by offering higher salaries than the Prime Minister as it vows to build a 'new elite team' to 'fundamentally rewire the state'. In a letter sent to the tech organisation Society for Technological Advancement, seen by The Telegraph, the Government said it is offering pay deals of up to £200,000 to lure over those currently working at a technology company or in academia for a 'tour of duty' in the Civil Service. Sir Keir Starmer is seeking to tap into the UK's large pool of savvy tech experts, echoing similar efforts from Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson's adviser, to bring 'weirdos and misfits' into the Civil Service. 'We are offering salaries up to £200k and contracts or secondments between six and 18 months, with the potential to extend. If you want, we'll negotiate a secondment with your employer,' the letter reads. 'If you've never considered working in government before then this is your chance to do a tour of duty at the very heart of it and see how it goes.' The move means that a new crack team of engineers will take home more than Sir Keir Starmer, whose total annual salary including his MP's pay is just over £166,000. Radical action The letter states that those who secure one of the high-paying roles will be tasked with transforming Number 10 and 'key areas of the government system through the applications of data science and AI [artificial intelligence]'. This includes 'radically improving the quality of public-facing services that people use every day,' as well as tasks such as 'strengthening the NHS, to making the streets safer and accelerating the delivery of new infrastructure and houses'. Competition for staff who specialise in AI is booming, with a study by marketing publication Biz Report finding earlier this year that AI-related jobs offer 77pc higher salaries than other occupations. The Government is under mounting pressure to streamline the Civil Service by cutting the overall headcount while increasing the number of employees in digital roles. By 2029, ministers hope that one in 10 civil servants will work in digital or data role.
Straits Times
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
New ways are needed to deal with accelerating change
Sultan Nazrin Shah, Sultan of Perak, delivering a keynote address during day two of ICCS at Raffles City Convention Centre on June 25. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI SINGAPORE - Countries must find bold new ways to better manage as their societies get continually transformed by technologies such as artificial intelligence, a group of eminent speakers urged on June 25. This need for agile and consultative governance is pressing as the benefits of digitalisation has unfortunately come at a considerable cost, such as the rise of digital echo chambers that feed prejudice and in the propagation of extremist ideologies, said the Sultan of Perak Nazrin Muizzuddin. Delivering the keynote speech at the second day of the annual International Conference of Cohesive Societies, the Sultan said digital transformation of society was one of three interlocking factors that have fuelled uncertainty and challenged social cohesion. 'Our digital spaces, which should be so good at opening doors and minds, are instead responsible for closing them,' he said. 'The very technologies that promise inclusion can entrench exclusion (while) our information ecosystems have become battlegrounds.' The other two factors he cited are the unprecedented pace of international migration due to reasons like climate change and political instability, and the rise in populism and protectionism caused by the unequal outcome from globalisation. At a discussion following the keynote, former Civil Service Head Peter Ho noted how social media has dramatically weakened the ability of governments to regulate information flows, and that misinformation is outpacing states' ability to correct them and control their impact. He referenced a stabbing incident in the United Kingdom that claimed the lives of three young girls in 2024. Far-right groups had stoked speculation online that the suspect was a Muslim migrant, despite the police clarifying that the attacker was born in the UK. This led to targeted attacks on the Muslim community, including a local mosque. Riots also erupted in 27 towns. The incident highlighted the jurisdictional limitations countries have in regulating social media platforms with a global reach, said Mr Ho, who is now a senior adviser at a think-tank, the Centre for Strategic Futures. It is a fool's errand to think that governments alone can regulate technology that is changing so fast and impacting society, he added. Fellow panellist Fadi Chehadé, who is managing partner at investment firm Ethos Capital, sketched out three ways in which AI will only accelerate the reconfiguring of societies. On the point of echo chambers, Mr Chehadé noted that AI will only result in further hyper personalisation of digital content, which could further atomise communities. The advent of AI also promises to multiply by millions of times the amount of misinformation that will be created, said the former president and CEO of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, a non-profit which coordinates the administration of the web's protocols. Lastly, the years ahead will see AI agents created at a pace that outnumbers the number of humans on the planet, dissolving the line separating the real world from cyberspace, he added. 'That's the world we're getting into, and I don't think any of us - or any government, or any one institution - has the power to slow down the hybrid world we're about to get into,' he said. (From left) Dean of S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies Kumar Ramakrishna, Senior Advisor of Centre for Strategic Futures Peter Ho, and former Mayor of Rotterdam Ahmed Aboutaleb, speaking at Plenary #2 on Navigating Uncertainty during day two of ICCS. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI But rather than look at the future with gloom, the experts sketched out ways in which countries can adapt to deal with the gathering pace of change. Panellist Ahmed Aboutaleb, the former mayor of Rotterdam, recounted his experience building trust between government institutions and citizens, which involved the time-tested approach of spending many evenings and hours engaging in face-to-face dialogue to understand people's needs and concerns. 'What people like is that the man or the woman in power gets to the level of the streets,' he said. Mr Ho called for governments to have the humility to know they need to work closely with the private sector and the people sector, as it is through this 'triangular relationship' that trust can be built up and consensus reached to tackle complex problems such as those brought about by technology. Agreeing, Mr Chehadé said these three groups working together can create a better form of multi-stakeholder governance. This is as the private sector would have to act within checks and balances, governments would not be imposing regulations that are out of sync with the digital world, and civil society and people will have their voices heard, he said. He also called for the legal concept of subsidiarity to apply to the governance of the digital world, which meant that regulations are shaped by each community based on its prevailing cultural norms, rather than for there to be universal standards imposed by distant authorities or bodies. Sultan Nazrin said the temptation during times of such upheaval would be to look to familiar ways of doing things, but that doing so would be a mistake. 'There is a temptation to retreat - to retreat into narrower circles of identity, to hoard privileges and to romanticise a past that, if we are honest and stripped away nostalgia, never was,' he said. Instead, he called for courage and clarity, which in the face of uncertainty 'can become a valuable compass and a crucible for renewal'. Quoting the philosopher Aristotle and singer Dolly Parton, the Sultan said: 'You cannot change the wind, but you can adjust the sails'. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Malay Mail
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Azmi Rohani appointed Comptroller of the Royal Household, effective July 1
PUTRAJAYA, June 23 — Tan Sri Dr Azmi Rohani has been appointed as the new Comptroller of the Royal Household, Istana Negara, effective July 1, said Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar. Shamsul Azri, in a statement today, said His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, has consented to the appointment of Azmi, 59, who has been the Johor State Secretary since January 1, 2017. 'Given his vast experience and credibility, I believe he will further strengthen the administration of Istana Negara and discharge his duties effectively as the Comptroller of the Royal Household in supporting and upholding the authority of His Majesty as the Head of State,' he said. Azmi holds a Bachelor's degree in Development Science (Economics and Management) from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, as well as a Master's degree in Human Resource Development and a PhD in Land Administration and Development from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. He has 33 years of experience in the civil service, having started his career as an assistant district officer at the Muar District Office in 1992. — Bernama
