Initiative FOR A NEW PRAGUE demands the cancellation of the selection process for the director of the ÚRM

Prague, 4.3.2011 - Surprisingly and without any connection to the declared willingness for discussion with the professional public, the Council of the City of Prague adopted a resolution on Tuesday, February 22, declaring a three-week (!!!) selection procedure for the director of the contributory organization of the Prague Development Unit. It did not address the change in the status of the Development Unit and the competencies of its director, i.e., the creation of conditions that would convince significant personalities in the field to apply for the selection procedure. Meanwhile, the acting director Ing. Arch. K. Szentesiová can seamlessly perform this role for the temporary period necessary for the preparation of the transformation, which is a fundamental priority! Without clarifying the competency framework of the unit and a new definition of its relationship with the city leadership, the change of director becomes nothing more than a mere "perestroika" shuffle.

This is also reflected in the professional requirements for candidates for the director's position. Besides a master's degree, there is only a requirement for knowledge of two basic laws (on the City of Prague and building regulations) and experience in leading people. This is completely insufficient - the tender requirements do not stipulate any practice in a similar organization nor theoretical experience in urban development planning, urbanism, and architecture. However, either amateurishly wrong or entirely purposefully, a minimum of 5 years of experience in public administration is required, which excludes all experts from the field who have not worked, for example, at a building office or at the ministry. Experts in urban development from the existing Development Unit, from local government, the private sector, or the academic community are thus preemptively excluded from the selection procedure - it is not about the performance of public administration itself!

The composition of the selection committee, led by the Deputy Mayor for Urban Development, former mayor of Prague 8 Josef Nosek, and whose members include Mayor doc. MUDr. Svoboda, head of gynecology, JUDr. Ing. Miloslav Ludvík, director of Motol Hospital and chairman of the committee for urban development, and director of the city hall Martin Trnka, suggests a lot; with all due respect to the aforementioned, none have experience in this area and are unable to assess the competence of candidates from a professional perspective! It is therefore reasonable to assume that a decision has already been made, and that a proven but predominantly loyal official will take the position.

It thus seems that the city's leadership has decided to continue on the established path, despite formally declaring a willingness for change. The choice of a technocratic administrator instead of a respected expert with experience in managing the development of Prague indicates the city's efforts to maintain the Development Unit as a humble executor of political orders. However, this is a process that cannot be agreed upon.
Therefore, the initiative FOR A NEW PRAGUE demands that the selection procedure be canceled and that a broader debate on the further functioning of the Development Unit be initiated as soon as possible. Only after the rules for the functioning of the Development Unit have been clarified can the correct qualification prerequisites for candidates be established, as well as the appropriate composition of the selection committee, and a competition for the director can be announced.

The initiative FOR A NEW PRAGUE

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From history:
The initiative FOR A NEW PRAGUE offered cooperation from the professional public to the newly elected council on January 6 of this year to address pressing developmental issues of the capital. It identified the inevitability of systemic changes in urban organizations responsible for development planning as one of the key questions, so that respected experts would lead them instead of politically vetted managers. In response to the call from the Committee of the City Council for Urban Development on February 16, representatives of the initiative proposed four priorities for discussion, of which they identified the change in the status and competencies of the Development Unit of the City of Prague as fundamental, enabling it to guarantee conceptual solutions for the development of Prague and to be led by respected experts.