Bureaucracy still far from ideal

Bureaucracy still far from ideal

JAKARTA (JP): Government bureaucracy in Indonesia has been
improved over the years but must still make progress if it is to be
effective in its role of supporting national development, a top
official says.

"From objective observations, evaluations and findings of
various studies, including my own experience, one can conclude that
the condition of our state administration is far from what it
should be," State Minister of National Development Planning
Ginandjar Kartasasmita said on Saturday.

Bureaucracy in any part of the world tends to be slow,
unresponsive, inefficient, expensive and obstructive, Ginandjar
said in his oration before a ceremony for 222 students graduating
from the Institute of State Administration.

Ginandjar supported his point by quoting American author Peter
F. Drucker:

"There is mounting evidence that government is big rather than
strong; that it is fat and flabby rather than powerful; that it
costs a great deal but does not achieve much."

Drucker was writing about governments in developed countries
and their problems in the face of globalization, Ginandjar said,
adding that the problem here is further complicated by the fact
Indonesia's bureaucracy is still in the formation process.

"With globalization, the challenge is made that much harder,"
said Ginandjar, an Air Force officer who spent a number of years in
public administration working at the State Secretariat.

He said the bureaucracy has made progress by applying public
administration principles, modern management principles and also by
tightening the supervision. It has been decentralized, giving more
and more autonomy to regional administrations.

One area that needs changing in the public administration
sector is the mentality, he said. "The revitalization of the state
administration cannot take place smoothly without changing the
culture within it."

To quote James Q. Wilson in his Bureaucracy -- What Government
Agencies Do and Why They Do It, Ginandjar said: "Culture is to an
organization what personality is to an individual."

The minister, who also chairs the National Development
Planning Board, said the chief job of government bureaucracy is to
support the development process, which in turn ensures sustainable
economic growth.

It has to encourage investment by mobilizing savings through
macro-economic policies.

Ginandjar stressed that the government is expected to play an
even more active role as Indonesia moves towards a more open,
market-oriented economy.

"The state administration cannot remain neutral," he said. "It
has to take sides when it comes to the question of social justice
and the interest of the people."

Ginandjar acknowledged that even in a market-oriented economy,
the government is often required to intervene to ensure a level-
playing field among all the players.

"The state administration must ensure that competition be
among equals. If there is inequality, then it (the government) must
give support to the weak so that it becomes strong and can compete
on equal terms."

He said the globalization process could widen existing
economic disparities. "We should give special attention to the
development of weaker economic sectors, including cooperatives, so
that they don't fall too far behind and can take advantage of the
momentum offered by the globalization process." (fhp)