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)