Not advise, but action<\/p>\n
What the new government urgently and badly needs in coping
\nwith the most pressing economic problems is not advice, but
\neffective, hands-on management by the chief executive. Hence,
\nwhatever may be the format and structure of the National Economic
\nCouncil (NEC) president-in-waiting Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono plans
\nto set up within his executive office, it should be designed to
\noperate like an economic crisis management center.<\/p>\n
As a crisis management center, the NEC should be action-
\noriented, able to make fast decisions on policy measures to
\nresolve economic problems, and coordinate and monitor their
\nexecution. So should be NEC's sister organization, the National
\nSecurity Council.<\/p>\n
The rationale is that however significant has been the
\nprogress the outgoing government claims to have made in
\nmacroeconomic stability, our economy is still bleeding, with
\naround one third of total state revenues going to service
\nexternal and domestic debts and almost 20 percent to subsidies of
\nfuel and other basic commodities.<\/p>\n
With more than 38 million people living in absolute poverty
\non or less than US$1 a day, and almost a hundred million of
\nothers under the international $2 a day poverty line, as well as
\nover 41 million unemployed or under-employed people, there is no
\nother way to describe our economic condition, but critical.<\/p>\n
Susilo should avoid the mistake made by then-president
\nAbdurrahman Wahid in 2000 with his economic council of advisers
\nwhich amounted to little more than decorative furniture at his
\nexecutive office.<\/p>\n
Susilo and his campaign team have rightly diagnosed the
\ncountry's economic ills and outlined the right policy
\nprescriptions in his economic program. The fundamental issue then
\nis management. Several analysts call it the management of
\nexpectations -- of the voters. As a management issue it is all
\nabout deciding the right priorities, coordinating and
\ncommunicating.<\/p>\n
Hence the most pressing agenda for the new government is how
\nto sequence the policy measures so that they are politically
\nacceptable, economically feasible and are perceived by the market
\nas credible.<\/p>\n
It is therefore well-advised for the new president to model
\nhis economic council on the powerful NEC at the American
\npresident's executive office, which is in charge of coordinating
\nthe making and implementation of policies and monitoring their
\nexecution.<\/p>\n
The people expect concrete, quick results, however small they
\nmay initially be. An early harvest could become a confidence-
\nbuilding block for other more difficult measures.<\/p>\n
This should be the role of the NEC Susilo will personally
\nchair. This council should function as a nerve center or an
\noperation room where economics ministers, top bureaucrats,
\nanalysts and leaders of business associations, discuss concerted
\nefforts to fix economic problems.<\/p>\n
Far from being perfunctory, a NEC meeting should run as a
\nbrain-storming session that brings the country's political
\nleadership face-to-face with representatives of the main economic
\nagents, all bent on translating the political resolve into real
\naction by the bureaucracy and the business community.<\/p>\n
Any issues such as barriers to international trade and new
\ninvestment such as credit financing, port clearance, imports of
\ninputs, tax assessment should be settled at the highest leveln
\nand immediately. The president's personal presence at every NEC
\nmeeting will keep all officials on their toes because they have
\nto be ready with answers to any questions the president will ask.<\/p>\n
The brain-storming conference will make action more important
\nthan bureaucratic procedures and rigidities, resolving problems
\nby executive fiat on the spot. The fundamental rationale is that
\na critical condition, like the current economic situation which
\nis bleeding the country dry, requires truly fast decisions.<\/p>\n
An effective decision-making and management center like the
\nNEC would be more capable of prioritizing actions and building up
\npublic acceptance of their implementation.<\/p>\n
The combination of leadership provided by the president, the
\nright management by economics ministers and the support provided
\nby business leaders in the decision-making process will create a
\nmore conducive environment for managing the economy.<\/p>\n
-----<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/not-advise-but-action-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }