Productivity of civil servants poor: Expert
Productivity of civil servants poor: Expert
JAKARTA (JP): The productivity of most civil servants is so low that they have become "covert unemployed" people, says deputy chairman of the National Productivity Council Payaman J. Simanjuntak.
The former director general of manpower development and supervision of the Ministry of Manpower said yesterday that, although intensive studies have yet to be conducted, it is the public's opinion that government employees are poor workers.
The four million civil servants, half of which are teachers, are members of the Indonesian Civil Servants Corps.
"The capabilities of (members of) this government body are not yet explored optimally," Payaman was quoted by the Antara news agency as saying.
Payaman, however, pointed out he was not generalizing. "There are some government institutions whose employees' productivity is quite high. They are willing to work until night time," he said. "But there are also many who seem to be always idle."
Payaman was speaking to reporters after announcing the council's plan to hold a seminar on the productivity and quality of the services of government sectors on Thursday and Friday.
The event will feature noted speakers including business tycoon Aburizal Bakrie, Minister of Administrative Reforms T.B. Silalahi, deputy chair of the National Development Planning Board Rahardi Ramelan, and a number of other experts.
"The seminar is being held in response to President Soeharto's recent call for civil servants to give their best for development and that they cut policies which are harmful to economic development," Payaman said.
Payaman said that poor salaries should be blamed for the poor productivity of government employees. "This is why employees at government offices impose illegal levies on public members requesting their service," he said.
Another concern he expressed yesterday was the exodus of good quality government employees going to the private sector because it promises better payment and career prospects.
If the condition continues, government institutions will lose potential cadres and the bureaucracy would no longer be a center of excellence, he said. (swe)