Fire incompetent civil servants

Fire incompetent civil servants

From Suara Karya

With regard to a number of quotations in papers presented during the national coordination meeting held by the Office of the State Minister of Administrative Reforms from Feb. 17 to Feb. 19, I would like to comment on the following:

* Matters related to the sluggish action of government officials to reform the bureaucracy: Many cases of corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN) have yet to be brought to court and remain unsettled even though the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) and the state minister's office found indications of embezzlement and fraud in certain institutions both in central and regional administrations.

Government officials are still considered incompetent in running the administration of the state.

* Bureaucratic reform at the central and regional levels should not only cover a series of conceptual, systematic and continual actions to improve the performance of government officials, civil servants and the law, but also improve their morals.

* Government departments should hire only capable and efficient people to fill posts and discharge those considered incompetent and give them proper severance pay. The number of staff members should suit the needs of each department.

* Prof. Loebby Lukman says in his paper that nepotism can be considered an act equivalent to corruption. The problem is that nepotism and corruption, however, are not clearly defined and governed by law. This means that corruption can never be eradicated here.

* Reform regarding the mechanism and working procedures for government institutions: Many government institutions are considered to have ignored their tasks to serve the public.

Based on the aforementioned points, it is understandable why the minister in question is urging all government institutions to show their commitment to serving the public. It is also hoped that civil servants will be more aware of their tasks and responsibilities.

TUTI KRISTIANTI, Jakarta