Job description of new cabinet announced
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto issued a decree yesterday defining the positions, basic functions and organizational structure of his 36-strong cabinet, in a bid to avoid overlapping tasks.
Coordinating Minister for Development Supervision and State Administrative Reforms Hartarto Sastrosoenarto said the President had clarified all possible confusion and conflict caused by the creation of some new posts in the 1998/2003 cabinet.
During the meeting he was accompanied by Minister/State Secretary Saadilah Mursjid.
In his decree, the President outlined the job descriptions of his four coordinating ministers, 20 ministers with portfolios, 10 state ministers and two officials of ministerial rank.
When he announced his new cabinet on March. 14, Soeharto established several new posts: state minister of the empowerment of state enterprises, state minister of food, drugs and horticulture, and minister of tourism, arts and culture.
The Ministry of Tourism which formerly included post and telecommunications has been separated from the latter two. Tourism now has the added responsibility of arts and culture while the lucrative directorate generals of post and telecommunications were placed under the authority of the Ministry of Transportation.
State Minister of the Empowerment of State Enterprises Tanri Abeng takes over the directorate general for state-owned companies which was formerly under the Ministry of Finance.
Tanri will be responsible for overseeing the country's 164 state companies.
But certain companies with a strong public service mission will still have working relations with the technical ministers.
The ministry of transportation will continue supervising Garuda Indonesia Airlines. The ministry of mines and energy will still oversee the state-owned electricity company PLN.
The responsibilities of State Minister of Food, Drugs and Horticulture Haryanto Dhanutirto will be to help other ministries in issues revolving around the provision of food and medicines.
Other technical changes include the directorate general of plantations which is now under the administration of the Ministry of Forestry instead of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Feisal Tanjung received the additional task of supervising the country's maritime affairs.
Hartarto himself was assigned the extra duty of supervising development and to manage the country's four million civil servants. "I am also asked to chair the National Advisory Body for the Promotion of State Officials."
Both Hartarto and Saadilah could not hide their smiles when explaining the tasks of Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Abdul Latief.
"There will be a directorate general for arts and culture comprising of a directorate for the appreciation of stage performances, and the appreciation of history," Hartarto said with a chuckle. (prb)