Fighting illegal levies

Fighting illegal levies

Minister of Education and Culture Juwono Sudarsono has
expressed his determination to put himself in the forefront in
the fight to eradicate illegal levies. Such a resolution, of
course, is actually nothing new. Illegal, or additional levies
have been a major public complaint since the beginning of the
former New Order regime. All the same, the practice has continued
to be persistent. People are aware that illegal levies contribute
to our high-cost economy. Still, the practice remains ubiquitous
as it appears to have become a part of our subculture.

Low civil service salaries are usually mentioned as the
pretext for the practice. As monthly salaries are inadequate to
cover even a mere two weeks of living expenses, civil servants
are forced to take fees illicitly. Such "humanitarian"
consideration are perhaps the reason why taking such fees is
commonly accepted as normal. So widespread has the custom become
that it has been said that no civil service exists in this
country, since every service has to be paid for.

Perhaps, though, the resolve of our minister of education
stands a greater chance of success if the government shows
greater transparency in its stated determination to eradicate
corruption. If transparency is practiced in each and every
service the government gives to the public -- for instance by
announcing in detail the cost and time needed for people to
obtain a license -- this practice of illicitly asking for extra
fees can be reduced to a minimum. Such a campaign would be even
more successful if people had the courage to be more demanding
and ask for a detailed explanation of the costs involved in
getting whatever service they need.

-- Suara Karya, Jakarta