Govt to simplify bureaucracy to boost national efficiency

Govt to simplify bureaucracy to boost national efficiency

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Industry Tunky Ariwibowo has
announced that the government will slash the licensing
bureaucracy to reduce production costs and improve the
competitiveness of Indonesia's products on the world market.

"It is the system of bureaucracy which should be simplified,"
he told reporters after delivering a presentation at a two-day
conference of business associations at the Shangri-La hotel,
yesterday.

He said that contacts between businessmen and the officials
authorized to produce licenses will be minimized to reduce the
possibility of collusion and payoffs.

Tunky acknowledged that the number of personal contacts
between businessmen and government officials assigned to issue
licenses, particularly those in local administrations, is too
high.

"Local administrations, therefore, will be encouraged to
minimize the contacts," he said.

He cited that Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto
has recently set a courageous step by arranging a computerization
system at the Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta, as well as other
major sea ports, to expedite document processing.

The program, scheduled to begin this month, is planned to
minimize personal contacts between officials and port service
users, he added.

Illegal levies for public services have increased costs for
producing goods, thereby affecting the country's export
competitiveness.

The government has repeatedly expressed concern over the
slowing growth of the country's non-oil exports from over 20
percent per annum to just 16 percent last year.

Tunky said measures of bureaucratic simplification will also
be applied to other sectors.

"Next month some ministers will visit several provinces to
meet with regents to make them understand more about the
government's measures to attract foreign investment," he said.

At yesterday's meeting, the chairman of the Indonesian Small
Business Association (Hipli), C. Feber Purba, complained that
administration in the country is indeed messy.

He challenged Minister Joedono that red tape still occurs
because of the poor coordination among governmental bodies.

Citing an example, Purba said that a number of local
administrations levy a certain tax on heavy equipment although
they have already been taxed by the central government.

"It seems that the government should first deregulate itself
before calling on the business community to be more efficient,"
he said. (09/icn)