Greater regional autonomy

Greater regional autonomy

A few days ago the House of Representatives resolved to pass a draft on regional administration. Since the draft came from the executive branch, it can be expected that it will soon become law. What this means is that we are poised to bestow our various regions with greater freedom to look after their own affairs by decentralizing the administration and granting them autonomy.

A number of prerequisites need to be met for any nation to be able to successfully anticipate the coming century. In economic terms, the engine of growth is no longer man's control over land, capital and natural resources, but the capability of the community within each country to manage life efficiently. Societies also need to educate their members to behave appropriately and nurture their culture.

In such a context, granting autonomy and a decentralization of government powers to our regions should give them a proper framework and enough space as well as a better foundation to develop. The rest will depend on the quality of the human resources available in each region. Provinces that do not have good human resources will be left behind those that do. The new law will bring its own consequences.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta