Inspection or corruption?

Inspection or corruption?

From Kontan

Jakarta's land transportation office plans to conduct private
vehicle roadworthiness inspections as a prerequisite for
extending motor vehicle registrations. This is reportedly meant
to guarantee the roadworthiness of all cars and prevent further
air pollution in the city.

However, it is public knowledge that such a scheme could well
develop into a breeding ground for corruption. All we have to do
is ask the owners or drivers of public transportation vehicles.
Here, various loopholes are availed of to impose all sorts of
charges and illegal fees, without any regard being paid to the
actual condition of the vehicles.

Besides, the city's present vehicle testing facilities will
obviously not be sufficient to enable the local administration to
annually test the millions of public transportation and private
vehicles on Jakarta's roads. This is clear from the limited time,
personnel and equipment available.

The basic problem is that this plan runs against the principle
of involving the public in managing security and the environment,
including ensuring that vehicles are up to standard. What the
government should do is to set roadworthiness standards and then
enforce them by conducting snap inspections to ensure compliance.

L. LUMINTO RAHAYU
Jakarta