British govt gives US$994,240 in aid

British govt gives US$994,240 in aid

JAKARTA (JP): The British government provided aid yesterday for a project to enhance the Indonesian civil service and reform.

Speaking before the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Overseas Development Administration on Civil Service Training and Reform Project of the British government and the National Institute of Administration here yesterday, British Ambassador Graham Burton said that his government will provide 648,000 pound sterling (US$994,240) in the form of long-term consultative services through cooperation with the institute.

J.B. Kristiadi, the institute's director, said the project will focus on efforts to improve the subjects of the senior management course, establish an improved trainers' program and introduce new techniques for selection and assessment during the coming three years.

Since its foundation in 1957, the institute has been in charge of training civil servants in all levels in order to help increase the quality of public services in the country.

Burton said the reforms will make the civil service more relevant to Indonesia's needs.

Kristiadi told reporters that the public administration is still sluggish in meeting public expectation.

Responding to challenges of the coming years in which the country will enter the era of open trade, he said, the civil service needs to upgrade the quality of its human resources.

Burton said that civil service in Indonesia shoulders a huge task because it serves a population of almost 200 million which increases three million a year, and is four times bigger than that of Britain.

He said it is worthwhile offering programs of improvement in personnel management to handle the effectiveness of public administration here.

Burton said relations between the British Embassy and the institute has developed well since the early 1980s, when his government gave aid to a language course program here. (16)