Gianyar regency cuts through red tape

Gianyar regency cuts through red tape

By William Sommers

JAKARTA (JP): Lately the Jakarta Post has been focusing on
ways to reduce corruption in the Indonesian government.

Suggestions from editorial writers, pundits and commentators
include social control, modernized bureaucracy, better pay, more
accountability and even an independent supervisory body.

There is one common thread: the need for transparency in
government from national policy formation down to the everyday
actions affecting millions of citizens.

But there's no need to worry because the solution is alive and
flourishing right here in Indonesia. A transparent, service-
oriented system is operating day-in and day-out, affecting
thousands of ordinary citizens in Gianyar regency in Bali.

Upon taking office four years ago, the Gianyar regency found
that the biggest complaint among citizens was their inability to
penetrate the red tape which effectively strangled applications
for permits, registrations and approvals required by the
government.

Citizens spent countless hours getting hammered by the
bureaucrats while trying to penetrate the maze of endless
official approvals. Coordination between departments was non-
existent so people had to either bridge the gap themselves or, in
total frustration, forget about the whole thing.

The regency knew a substantial turnabout was needed. Charged
with solving the problem, the regency administration proposed a
"one-stop permit system."

The system, which began in November 1994 and was revised with
experience, is now a model of transparency, efficiency and --
most of all -- responsiveness. The applying citizen is no longer
viewed as a nuisance but an important customer.

The new system includes eight key permits: land use, building
construction, business, commercial and industrial operations,
personal identification cards, land title certificates and birth
certificates. The regency has gathered all the permitting
authorities under one roof where citizens, upon lodging their
application, need do no more. All the interaction is done by the
regency employees operating out of Gianyar's Integrated Services
Unit.

Now an applicant enters a fully transparent operation where
all the rules and requirements, the approval system, the costs
and the waiting time are posted in large print on the wall,
summarized in an excellent, well written citizen guide and
repeated again at each of the eight permitting counters.

No price negotiations for getting things done quickly -- or
even at all -- no unknown rules or procedures pop up when you
least expect it and nobody looks down on you.

The unit is housed in one building, divided into eight clearly
marked counters where courteous government officers give advice
and help with applications. When the document is filed they tell
you how long it will take and how much it will cost.

A separate information desk provides details and distributes
copies of the guide for citizens. A large waiting room has
comfortable seats for applicants, a public telephone, newspapers
and a clean lavatory.

Applications are entered into a computer network which
connects the central approving agencies and the regency's seven
subdistricts. Citizens can check the disposition of their
applications while the Unit's coordinator can review applications
to identify possible problems or noncompliance with the posted
time schedule.

The regency operates five mobile units which shuttle between
the central office and the subdistricts, bringing applications
and documentation from the subdistrict office to the center for
processing. The mobile units also deliver the approved permits
directly to the citizen and collect the posted fees -- and no
tipping, please.

The results are remarkable both in numbers and in compliance.
General applications are up by 22 percent and difficult
applications like building construction and land title have
increased by 274 percent and 69 percent respectively.

People have more faith in the system and are applying for
their permits where in the past they avoided the frustration by
not applying at all.

These improvements were made without outside consultants or
external loans. The personnel were not increased but reassigned
to more productive tasks. The experts were from Gianyar, the
funds came from the regency and the provincial government. The
benefits went to the people.

Academics, consultants, editorial writers and pundits need
look no further, Gianyar is the place to start. Imagine if these
improvements were put in place in Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan, Ujung
Pandang, Yogyakarta, Bandung and in the central government.

Why not? Gianyar didn't do it with mirrors or with miracles.
It applied common sense, a touch of political will and evident
courage to solve a problem that has made a significant difference
in the way Gianyar operates. If its lead is followed, getting a
transparent, responsive Indonesian government into the 21st
century will be a piece of cake.

The writer is a Resident Representative for Research Triangle
Institute, Indonesia.