Regencies ready for pilot project on autonomy

Regencies ready for pilot project on autonomy

JAKARTA (JP): Officials from various regency administrations
said yesterday that they will be ready to accept more tasks and
responsibilities from the central government under a greater
regional autonomy project to be launched on April 25.

"We have issued bylaws to create 24 new agencies which will
take over some of the tasks previously handled by the central
administration," A.M Sulaiman, regent of Kutai in East
Kalimantan, told The Jakarta Post by telephone.

Sulaiman said he had no problem finding the personnel to run
the newly created agencies.

Sofyan Effendi, assistant to the chief regency in Batanghari
in the province of Jambi, said however that he expected that the
central administration would assist in staffing and funding the
new agencies created in his territory.

Karimuddin Hasybullah, Regent of North Aceh in Aceh, sees the
program as a challenge that he will have to meet.

Describing the autonomy as a trust placed in him by the
central government, Karimuddin said: "I will carry out the
program with all the people in North Aceh."

Kutai, Batanghari and North Aceh are three of the 26 regencies
in Indonesia that have been selected by the government for the
pilot project of the greater autonomy.

The officials in the three regencies said they have made
lengthy preparations for the project and do not anticipate major
problems when the central government delegates more power to
them.

The project will be formally launched by President Soeharto at
a ceremony in Jakarta on April 25, according to an Antara report
yesterday. The try out period is two years and, if successful,
will be applied to all the regencies in the country.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Home Affairs said the
launching date has been postponed from April 17. He did not give
any reason for the delay.

State Minister for Administrative Reform T.B. Silalahi early
this week said the project would be implemented despite
objections coming from the Ministry of Information and the
Ministry of Religious Affairs.

Under the program, all branch offices representing 24
government ministries will be abolished. Their task will be taken
over by agencies responsible to the regency chiefs.

Some of the transfers have already been effected, according to
Antara.

The Yogyakarta administration had, as of yesterday, already
transferred the tasks of 10 ministries to the Sleman regency
administration. Similarly, Banyumas has also accepted greater
tasks and responsibilities from the Central Java provincial
administration. (29)