Rini's crisis center<\/p>\n
Industry and trade minister Rini Soewandi's move to set up a
\ncrisis center in cooperation with business associations should be
\nwelcomed and supported as a fresh initiative to help reinvigorate
\nthe business sector through a mechanism that will focus on good
\ncoordination, fast decision-making and concrete programs of
\naction.<\/p>\n
As the minister in charge of manufacturing and trade that
\nmakes up core economic activities, Rini is greatly concerned over
\nthe worsening condition for investment and the steadily eroded
\ncompetitiveness of Indonesia's export industry.<\/p>\n
She is fully aware that without new investment the country's
\nmanufacturing industry will become increasingly less competitive
\nbecause its obsolete plant equipment will make it grossly
\ninefficient, unable to produce goods of higher value-added, and
\nwill render its products unable to meet changes in market
\npreferences.<\/p>\n
The almost 7 percent decrease in export revenues in the first
\nsix months of this year and the recent reports about how an
\nincreasing number of footwear and textile factories have lost
\nforeign orders to competitors in other developing countries and
\nhow several major investors canceled their business plans in the
\ncountry are greatly worrisome indeed.<\/p>\n
There must be many things fundamentally wrong when Indonesia
\nis losing in price competitiveness to such countries as China,
\nVietnam, Malaysia and India while the rupiah's foreign exchange
\nrate remains almost four times less than it was before the 1997
\ncrisis and its labor wages are still one of the lowest in the
\nworld.<\/p>\n
All these worrisome developments seemed to have prompted Rini,
\nwho is known as a minister of fast, concrete action, to establish
\na sort of nerve center where her officials and businesspeople can
\nfrankly discuss and resolve any problems encountered in the
\nmanufacturing and trade sectors.<\/p>\n
Skeptics might doubt the effectiveness of the crisis center,
\narguing that most of the obstacles to manufacturing plants and
\ntrade activities lie beyond Rini's authority.<\/p>\n
True, most of the major problems that affect industry and
\ntrade such as inefficient and corrupt customs, port handling,
\npoor transportation infrastructure, lack of credit financing,
\nradical trade unions and uncertainty about tax assessment are
\noutside Rini's authority to resolve.<\/p>\n
Ideally, though, to be fully effective, such a crisis center
\nshould be headed directly by President Megawati Soekarnoputri
\nherself or at least by the coordinating minister for the economy,
\ngiven the good coordination and cooperation on the part of other
\nministers needed to resolve the various problems faced in
\nmanufacturing and trade activities.<\/p>\n
The country, which is in its fifth consecutive year of an
\neconomic crisis, actually needed such a crisis-management center
\nmore than four years ago, but the President's top priority seemed
\nto lie somewhere else.<\/p>\n
Such a war-room like an operation center is needed to bring
\nthe political leadership face-to-face with representatives of the
\nbusiness community and bureaucratic agencies at least once a
\nmonth to discuss and resolve problems of most urgency.<\/p>\n
Any issues related to economic-crisis management such as asset
\nsales, debt restructuring, privatization, credit financing, port
\nclearance for imports, antibusiness rulings issued by local
\nadministrations, smuggling and other crucial reform measures
\ncould be settled quickly at the highest level of the executive
\nbranch.<\/p>\n
The basic rationale of such a mechanism is that the management
\nof an economic crisis should run like the emergency center of a
\nhospital, where fast decisions and concrete programs of action
\nare more important than bureaucratic procedures or rigidities.<\/p>\n
Despite its inherent weaknesses and limitations, Rini's crisis
\ncenter will nevertheless be able to at least keep her apprised of
\nthe problems in various areas encountered by businesspeople and
\nwill therefore enable her to bring up those issues to the Cabinet
\nwhere resolutions can be decided at the highest level.<\/p>\n
However, it would be better and more effective in helping
\nresolve economic problems if the President or the Cabinet
\neventually makes a magnanimous decision to upgrade and broaden
\nRini's crisis center into an interministerial crisis center that
\nworks with the highest sense of urgency to resolve problems by
\nexecutive fiat on the spot at least on a monthly basis.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rinis-crisis-center-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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