http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20070918.H02&irec=1
Govt's reform programs under fire Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The House of Representatives' Commission II overseeing home affairs criticized Monday the government's 2008 programs to reform the bureaucracy, saying they were too ambitious, too late to fight corruption and too overdue to improve public services. Ryaas Rasyid of the Nationhood Democratic Party (PDK) also said he considered the programs too lateral and not easily applied. He said the programs required nine laws, several of which had yet to be deliberated and most of which were contrary to the decentralization program. "The administrative reform programs do not need as many laws as the government has proposed ... it will take many years to deliberate nine laws," he said at a commission session with State Minister for Administrative Reforms Taufik Effendy. "These programs (also) assume President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will be re-elected in the 2009 presidential election," he said. The minister presented a series of main programs designed to create good governance in 2008, which would cost Rp 135.6 billion (US$14.45 million). A public administration expert and former state minister of regional autonomy, Ryass said Taufik should design concrete programs in order to achieve concrete change. Ryass said the bureaucracy had the next two years to convince the public it was serious in its fight against corrupt practice and was determined to improve public services. Nursyahbani Katjasungkana of the National Awakening Party (PKB) faction said the programs showed the government had yet to identify the main problems in its bureaucracy -- problems that had contributed to the government's overall poor performance. "There is an unequal distribution of civil servants ... most of them are still stationed at ministries, which is against the regional autonomy principle," she said. "To be consistent with regional autonomy, the central government should also decentralize the bureaucracy to provinces, regencies and municipalities. "The central government should move a bigger part of its human resources, particularly experts, to regional areas to support bureaucracy reform in regions." Nursyahbani said many ministries that had decentralized a large part of their administration to regional areas were now overstaffed and inefficient. She said the ministry should focus on changing its internal mindset, including the adoption of a good governance model and a productive, compliant human resources sector. "The government should adjust the size of the bureaucracy in proportion with the public they must serve," she said. Ferry Mursyidan Baldan of the Golkar Party said any bureaucracy reform should allow the central government and local administrations to become familiar with the public they have to serve. "Ministries should identify with the society they have to serve and so do regional administrations," he said. "But this could be done only if the population registration is conducted and well managed." He said an accurate registration of the population with a single identity number -- as mandated by the 2006 law on population administration -- was needed to register eligible voters for the 2009 general election and local polls. printer friendly Post Your Comments Comments could also be sent to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
