City administration vows to simplify issuance of papers

City administration vows to simplify issuance of papers

JAKARTA (JP): The municipality has promised to trim down
bureaucratic procedures required to obtain various permits, while
Governor Surjadi Soedirdja admitted that investors have had to
pay bribes to speed up the acquisition process.

Deputy Governor for Government Affairs, Idroes, said yesterday
one of the procedures to be simplified would be the one to obtain
land use permits.

"In the future any proposal for land use permits will only be
reviewed once by the governor," Idroes said.

Currently a proposal for such permits, required for companies
intending to use at least 5,000 square meters of land, must first
be forwarded to the city planning agency.

After being studied at the agency, all proposals are forwarded
to the Governor, who then sends them back to the agency.

This second study by the agency is followed by an overview by
the Governor, who may then issue his approval through a decree.

Surjadi said yesterday that while investors are suffering
lengthy delays burdened with levies, they are also having to pay
interest on their loans.

For instance, an investor can spend one year acquiring a
permit to appropriate land for a factory. Meanwhile interest must
be paid although the project has not yet even started, he said.

"Investors often seek ways to quicken the process by bribing
officials," Surjadi said.

The new method, Idroes said, "will be faster than the current
system. And hopefully it will increase investment here and reduce
investors' complaints," Idroes said.

Idroes added that the municipality will also simplify
procedures in other agencies such as the city development
supervision agency.

Governor Surjadi said the plan is part of efforts to make
Jakarta competitive compared with other cities in the Asia
Pacific region.

"Jakarta lies in a region with a huge potential market and we
are determined to create an attractive climate for investors.
This can be done by creating quick and cheap services," he said.

He said that the first stage of the plan will be implemented
in the city planning and development supervision agencies, a
source of numerous complaints.

"Hopefully they will be ready to issue documents more simply
by the end of this year," Surjadi said.

The public, including investors in housing developments and
factories, have often complained about poor services offered by
city agencies.

One investor has claimed that he has to slip a certain amount
of money inside documents every time he deals with different
officials.

Surjadi emphasized that the new procedure will reduce
corruption among officials.

"The fees of the services will remain the same," he said,
referring to city rules on the fees required for certain
documents, but added that the real cost should be reduced as the
procedures have been simplified, and so there should be fewer
bribery opportunities.

"But more simple procedures will have a positive impact on
investors because they will be cheaper than the current ones,"
the Governor said.

According to the city investment board, in 1995 alone, the
total foreign investment in Jakarta exceeded Rp 1.2 trillion
US$510 million) while domestic investment was Rp 3.19 trillion
($1.38 billion). (yns)