Local autonomy limits graft: Academic<\/p>\n
A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesia must continue boosting the autonomy of regional and
\nlocal governments, a Philippine scholar has urged.<\/p>\n
Decentralization improves living standards and can help limit
\ncorruption, said Cielito F. Habito, who was secretary for
\nsocioeconomic planning under former president Fidel Ramos from
\n1992 to 1998.<\/p>\n
"The implementation of decentralization programs in the
\nPhilippines, which have been carried out over the last 11 years,
\nhas improved the performance of our governance system," Habito
\ntold The Jakarta Post at a seminar entitled "Enhancing
\nBureaucracies through Good Governance and Human Development."<\/p>\n
The two-day seminar, held by the Development Finance
\nComptroller (BPKP), was attended by representatives of government
\ninstitutions.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian government has recently expressed doubts over
\nits program of decentralization.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Home Affairs is in the process of revising the
\nregional autonomy law introduced in January last year on the
\ngrounds that decentralization "has not run as well as expected."<\/p>\n
Habito said that the decentralization program in the
\nPhilippines had pushed the local governments to be much more
\nresponsive to the needs of local people because they constantly
\nfaced the risk of being voted out.<\/p>\n
"Under our law, the local people have the right to unseat the
\ngovernors and the regents any time with a two-thirds vote of the
\nregional assemblies,'' he said.<\/p>\n
"This spurs the governor and the regents to do their utmost in
\nenhancing people's welfare to prevent themselves from being
\nsuddenly unseated."<\/p>\n
Decentralization had helped reduce the level of corruption,
\nHabito said.<\/p>\n
"Indeed, the corruption has spread out in the regions, but
\nthose practices are more manageable than similar corruption
\npractices in the center.<\/p>\n
"The massive corrupt practices do not occur under the
\ndecentralization program because local people are easily able to
\noversee what the local government is doing," said Habito.<\/p>\n
Corruption was rampant in the Philippines during the reign of
\nformer President Ferdinand Marcos.<\/p>\n
Habito said decentralization could also create problems.<\/p>\n
Officials of the local governments often acted as mini-kings,
\nexploiting their tenures to enrich themselves and disregarding
\nthe prosperity of people, he said.<\/p>\n
Another negative aspect was that the local authorities were
\nlimited in the services they could provide to constituents.<\/p>\n
Data compiled by the Post shows that the best university
\ngraduates were more enthusiastic about civil service jobs in the
\ncentral government than in local administrations.<\/p>\n
Most graduates felt they would get better jobs and speedier
\npromotions in the central government.<\/p>\n
As a result, the local governments often had to employ lower
\nquality graduates.<\/p>\n
"Therefore, the central government and donor countries must
\nhelp the local governments enhance their training of local civil
\nservants for the sake of improvement in services to local
\npeople," said Habito.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/local-autonomy-limits-graft-academic-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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