Administrative reform in Berlin: Clear responsibilities for found animals required!

Administrative reform in Berlin: Clear responsibilities for found animals required!

Lichtenberg, Deutschland - in Berlin are around 500 official tasks on the brink, as there are unclear responsibilities between the Senate administrations and the districts. This problem not only affects everyday administrative matters, but also has a direct impact on animal welfare work in the state. One example is the Siam cats, which were recently secured from a private apartment in the Lichtenberg district. According to Tagesschau there are also animal finds under the unclear responsibilities and the maintenance of honorary graves.

Berlin authorities are in a long process of administrative reform, the goal of which is a clear division of responsibilities between the country and the districts. State Secretary Martina Klement leads the efforts that are to be completed by the end of the year. The reform becomes part of a comprehensive legislative package that includes a new state organization law (LOG) in order to optimize administrative work and to strengthen citizens' orientation, such as rbb24 reported.

Reform goals and challenges

Current administrative inefficiency inefficiency leads to delays and overloads in various areas. The district councilor Filiz Keküllüoğlu sharply criticized the disagreement between the Senate administrations because it leads to inefficient processes, especially in the registry offices. Care and maintenance of honorary graves are insufficiently regulated, which affects the quality of the services. In 2024 the Lichtenberg animal shelter recorded over 4,000 animals, including 2,100 found animals and 900 animals seized, which underlines the urgency of the reforms.

The reform is also intended to ensure that the reactive between authorities is reacted to within one month. If there is no answer in this period, this is considered approval. This is an essential step to end the so-called "authorities pingpong". A uniform catalog of jurisdiction should clearly represent the tasks of the Berlin administration and thus enable better organization.

The role of the districts

The district is intended to grant a greater control option through the reform in order to be able to check the decisions of the Senate specialist administrations at any time. The Mayor Council receives the right to submit their own proposals for administrative regulations and to direct them directly to the state parliament. CDUs and SPDS coalition agreement of 2023 provides for the modernization of the Berlin administration, but the red-green-red predecessor senate had already pursued similar goals, which also makes the reform process complex.

The measure that is to come into force from 2026 could make a decisive contribution to improving the administration in Berlin. It becomes clear that the ambiguity of the responsibilities not only builds up bureaucratic hurdles, but also significantly impair animal welfare and other public services. For example, it is high time that the care of honor graves, which often does not reach the necessary standard, receives clear responsibilities.