Civil society has to say enough to corruption<\/p>\n
Good governance and public accountability are major issues for
\nIndonesia, one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Prof.
\nGraeme Hodge from the Privatization and Public Accountability
\nCenter at Monash University in Australia spoke with The Jakarta
\nPost's Fabiola Desy Unidjaja about these issues, as well as a
\nprogram he is leading to help teach civil servants here about
\ngood governance.
\n--------------------------------------------------------------------<\/p>\n
Question: What is the main factor for reducing corruption and
\nensuring the accountability of the government?<\/p>\n
Answer: The main factor in ensuring transparent government is
\ndistributing power and involving as much public participation as
\npossible.<\/p>\n
Things like establishing a stronger, independent
\nanticorruption commission, giving stronger legal teeth to the
\ncommission, strengthening the role of the public and also other
\ncommissions, they are all important.<\/p>\n
I think there are no magic silver bullets to reduce corruption
\nin a short time, but when the civil society says enough is enough
\nand puts pressure on the government, there will be some changes.<\/p>\n
Ensuring greater transparency begins with shining lights in
\nmany different areas.<\/p>\n
The more involved community groups, the more involved
\ncitizens ... the more feedback we will get on whether services
\nare good.<\/p>\n
The number one thing is to let the people know what is going
\non inside the government, and also where the money has been
\nspent.<\/p>\n
How should we encourage the public to play a role in creating
\na transparent and accountable government?<\/p>\n
We have a common practice in Australia called the declaration
\nof interests, which specifies whether a person has any personal
\nconnections which may jeopardize their duties.<\/p>\n
Another form also specifies that their family does not have
\nany interests, and I think these public declarations are an
\neffective measure.<\/p>\n
Aside from that, I think the establishment of an
\nanticorruption commission is very sensible.<\/p>\n
I think there is much more to be done in ensuring that the
\ncommission has legal power and adequate resources, and not just
\nthe authority to supervise the use of money.<\/p>\n
We must put pressure on the government to make sure that the
\ncommission is established properly. When there is pressure from
\ncitizens, the government will support change.<\/p>\n
What is the most effective way to minimize political influence
\nin the establishment of the anticorruption commission?<\/p>\n
In many countries that have established independent
\norganizations, which are separate from the political process,
\npoliticians have been involved. That's true. But the members
\nshould be appointed for specific terms by independent
\norganizations. They do have resources, do have legal power and
\nresponsibility in finding corruption.<\/p>\n
What usually happens in other countries is that you establish
\ntwo or three independent organizations. We have many independent
\norganizations because politicians can represent one view, but you
\nneed someone else to counter that and you can do that through
\nthese independent organizations.<\/p>\n
If you have more than one independent organization, they will
\nstrengthen each other in ensuring transparent and accountable
\nprocesses inside the government.<\/p>\n
Could you provide some details of the training program that
\nyou, in conjunction with AusAID, are running for government
\nofficials here?<\/p>\n
The program is coordinated through Monash University. We have
\nrun the program for 15 years, and many of them (the participants)
\nhave been involved in several projects before in the country.<\/p>\n
The program itself is called good governance and public
\nmanagement. What it really aims to do is to get people to
\nunderstand the principles of practices of good governance and to
\nbe able to take practical steps toward better accountability,
\nwhich include public accountability, better management practices
\nand the participation of stakeholders in making decisions and
\nmanagement change.<\/p>\n
There are a series of ideas on good governance and we share
\njust the principles, and then they will share these ideas with
\ntheir coworkers.<\/p>\n
There is an evaluation at the end of the program and there are
\nalso a series of action plans that they develop. We monitor the
\nimplementation of these plans over the next six months, so we
\nhave a whole new design for them.<\/p>\n
Are you optimistic that the program will further efforts to
\nbuild good governance?<\/p>\n
Of course. There should be a series of programs which involve
\nstrengthening the mechanisms and increasing the participation of
\nthe people.<\/p>\n
It is important for a strong political commitment to
\ntransparency, as all good governance issues are tied up to the
\nfact that good governance means democratic political processes
\nand government accountability mechanisms.<\/p>\n
It is a difficult issue in most countries in the world, but in
\nbuilding good governance you have to rely both on the political
\nprocess and public participation.<\/p>\n
So with these programs we try to spread the idea of good
\ngovernance among civil servants, as part of the overall process
\nin the country of achieving good governance.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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