Radical reform necessary to curb corruption: Report<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Radical reform of the Indonesian administration and
\nbureaucracy is imperative to help curb endemic corruption among
\ncivil servants, an Asian Development Bank (ADB) report has said.<\/p>\n
The bank's Country Governance Assessment Report said rampant
\ncorruption among civil servants was made possible by poor
\nmanagement at all levels of administration, as well as by a lack
\nof transparency in recruitment and promotion, and by bribes being
\npaid for appointments.<\/p>\n
The government demonstrated its preference for an open
\nrecruitment system last year by holding simultaneous nation-wide
\ncivil service recruitment tests for 204,584 positions to minimize
\nthe possibility of bribery.<\/p>\n
However, Law No. 43\/1999 on Civil Servants, and Government
\nRegulation No. 25\/2002 on Jurisdiction of the Central Government
\nand Provinces allows for closed recruitment, which leads to
\nopportunities for bribery.<\/p>\n
It is an open secret that applicants for government positions
\nusually have to pay money to get accepted.<\/p>\n
The report said that there were anecdotal indications that
\nsuggested that the level of corruption in appointments and
\npromotions was significant. Promotions were often given to the
\nhighest bidder, with higher payments being required for entry
\ninto \"lucrative\" jobs.<\/p>\n
\"The trade in positions serves three illicit purposes. The
\nperson paying the bribe is assured a job with rewards that cannot
\nbe expected from basic salaries and allowances. For the persons
\naccepting the bribe, it provides some income,\" the report said.<\/p>\n
\"It also guarantees personal loyalty to the patron under whom
\nthis operation works and thus enforces allegiance in maintaining
\ncorrupt practices and assuring secrecy.\"<\/p>\n
A source at the Office of the State Minister of Culture and
\nTourism confirmed that bribing of National Civil Service Board
\n(BKN) officials took place very often.<\/p>\n
\"Civil servants do it to expedite the administration process,\"
\nsaid the man, who has served 18 years as a civil servant.<\/p>\n
The source also confirmed the subjectivity of appraisals
\nconducted by superiors in each department, where arbitrary likes
\nand dislikes prevailed.<\/p>\n
The report also found that the policy of maintaining low basic
\nsalary levels plus various types of allowances, made civil
\nservants look for other avenues to obtain income.<\/p>\n
\"I've been working for almost two decades but my basic salary
\nis only Rp 1.2 million. Therefore, I'm counting on money from
\nprojects to increase my income,\" said the source.<\/p>\n
The ADB report said that annual performance assessments of
\ncivil servants did not evaluate performance based on targets and
\nobjectives, but as a means to extend rewards.<\/p>\n
In conclusion, the ADB suggested that radical reforms be made,
\namong other things by seeing to it that all actions taken by
\ncivil servants have a basis in law, that they be accountable to
\ntheir superiors, and that effective accountability mechanisms be
\nput in place. (006)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/radical-reform-necessary-to-curb-corruption-report-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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