Competition essential to improve public service
JAKARTA (JP): Creating competition among public utilities companies and governmental institutions is required to improve the quality of public services, State Minister of Administrative Reforms T.B. Silalahi said here yesterday.
"Overhead costs of our economy is increasing and most of the costs are used to bribe officials... although not all of our officials accept bribes," Silalahi said at a seminar held at Sangri-La Hotel.
"Just go to the Jakarta administration office to obtain a number of letters, you will notice how many 'tables' you have to deal with. In the end, after a tiring process, an official will tell you: 'let's just resolve the matter at the Hilton'," Silalahi said.
Therefore, Silalahi asserted that the bureaucracy needs to be run with competition. He explained that such competition can be created by, among others, giving incentives and disincentives to public servants through their salaries.
"So far we give annual salary increases to public servants without reckoning their performances. And now, we are considering of giving real salary increases or bonuses only to those who make accomplishment," Silalahi said.
He acknowledged, however, that the low-level salaries of public servants have become the government's main concern whenever it wants to improve the quality of the bureaucracy.
"How can you expect the best services from such low-paid public servants... I know your salaries. If you are well-paid and riding your own cars, you will be more motivated to hunt the best news, wont' you," Silalahi told journalists.
Last fiscal year, which ended in March, the government budgeted Rp 13.01 trillion (US$5.7 billion) to pay some four million civil servants and pensioners, a 19.4 percent increase from Rp 10.89 trillion in the 1993-1994 fiscal year. This fiscal year, the government has earmarked Rp 15.35 trillion to pay civil servants and pensioners.
Silalahi noted that it is necessary to create competition among state-owned and private public utilities to improve the quality of public facilities and public services.
Competition
He explained that such competitions can be created between state companies and state companies or between state companies and private companies or between private companies and private companies.
"Competitions can also be created within a public utility company which has several units or even several subsidiaries," Silalahi said. "The state electricity company PT PLN, for instance, can create competition among its units of services in various districts."
He added that the Abdisatyabakti service award presented by President Soeharto to 10 state agencies last month shows the government's efforts to improve the quality of public services.
"Next year, we target that some 100 units of state agencies will get such awards and the following year we hope that the amount of public service units which deserve the awards will triple," Silalahi said. (rid)