Health ministry aims at efficiency

Health ministry aims at efficiency

JAKARTA (JP): In a bid to catch up with the government's drive
to increase efficiency in the bureaucracy, the Minister of Health
discharged on Monday dozens of high-ranking officials.

Minister Achmad Sujudi said while the ministry needed many
more professionals than officials, fewer people were interested.

He asked that the 54 officials discharged from their
administrative positions give up their jobs "with a big heart."

Achmad declined to confirm whether the lack of attraction for
the much needed professional staff was the relatively small
allowances.

The government has taken the controversial decision to hike
allowances of high-ranking officials by a dramatic average of
1,000 percent. Allowances for the four highest echelons of the
civil service range from Rp 9 million to Rp 350,000 under the new
policy.

Also on Monday, the minister installed 50 high ranking
administrators transferred from other posts as part of the
reorganization.

Among others, the ministry's secretariat general lost 30
officials.

Achmad said the 54 officials who were no longer in
administrative positions would be given new jobs according to
their expertise.

Achmad said the professional positions included doctors,
dentists, pharmacologists, epidemiologists, entomologists, and
public health workers.

It would be better to have more professional staff in the
ministry, the minister said.

"Professional staff are (the real) producers, that's why there
are many such positions to be created," he said at the ceremony.

For instance, he said, the ministry still needed librarians
and statisticians.

Achmad said that the decision to reorganize the ministry was
in line with the "rapid and drastic" government policy to
increase civil servants' professionalism.

Political observers have noted the government's intention to
reform the bureaucracy, to reduce centralized power.

Achmad asked that officials attempt to solve problems "instead
of becoming part of the problem," but he did not elaborate. (08)