The National Botanical Garden (NBG) was merged with the Nature Conservation Agency (NCA) as of January 1 of this year. At that time, the authorities explained the reform as necessary to reduce bureaucracy, increase the efficiency of public administration, and save budget funds. Now, a reverse reform is proposed to once again separate the Botanical Garden into an independent institution. Arguments for this include management efficiency and reduced bureaucracy. According to the De facto program, it is claimed that after the merger, the income from the main activities of the Botanical Garden decreased. However, journalists note that these conclusions are not supported by the data available to the Nature Conservation Agency. At the same time, it remains unclear how much the new reorganization will cost the state. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance has opposed the proposed reform. Before the merger, the National Botanical Garden had 106 staff positions. After the reorganization, 99 positions were transferred to the Nature Conservation Agency, and another seven were eliminated. It was planned to save about 147,000 euros annually, directing the released funds to increase employee salaries. The merger process took several months. The liquidation commission held ten meetings and only completed its work in May. At the time of the merger, there were 28 vacant positions in the National Botanical Garden. To find employees, 67 competitions were held, and currently, only four vacancies remain unfilled.
