Culture Ministry plans smaller heritage inspectorate, new strategy directorate
Minister Miloshev wants to cut the cultural heritage inspectorate from 40 to 29 posts and create a strategy directorate. An expert criticizes the plans.
Symbolic image · Photo: BrankaVV / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Culture Minister Evtim Miloshev wants to restructure his ministry's administration. Under the draft, reported by the news site Actualno on Monday (Oct. 12), the overall total of 188 posts remains unchanged. However, the Chief Directorate 'Inspectorate for the Protection of Cultural Heritage' is to shrink from 40 to 29 staff, and the regional inspectorates from 24 to 12 posts. Miloshev cites overlapping responsibilities.
A new directorate for strategic planning, coordination, analysis and evaluation of cultural policy with 12 posts is to be created. Responsibility for film is to move to the existing copyright directorate, which will be renamed. According to the newspaper Sega, the six regional inspectorates in Vratsa, Veliko Tarnovo, Varna, Burgas, Plovdiv and Sofia will each keep two staff members.
Expert Anna Videnova told Actualno that the inspectorate was expanded from 18 to 40 posts only in 2020 to strengthen enforcement of the Cultural Heritage Act, and asked what has changed since then. Comments can be submitted on the government's public consultation portal until Nov. 5.