Sleman govt to publish Year Book to boost accountability, transparency

Sri Wahyuni, Yogyakarta

After publishing its accounts in the media recently, the first time ever for a local government in Indonesia, Sleman regency is now set to take another step on the road to something approaching accountability: it will soon publish a comprehensive year book.

"We are at the final stages of preparation. If everything goes according to plan, we expect to be able to launch the year book by the end of this month at the latest," Sleman Local Treasury and Financial Management Agency (BPKKD) director Nogati Sri Karyati said over the weekend.

The year book will be in full-color and consist of some 80 pages. It will provide an overview of what the regency government has been doing since last year, and include, among others things, a description of the regency's mission, development strategies, geographical condition, physical and non-physical development activities, and developments in the human resources field.

Part two of the year book will set out the regency government's accounts for last year, including its budget realization report, balance sheet, cash flow statement, and the deficit/surplus statement. A certificate from the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) will be attached to the annual accounts.

In the last part of the year book, the regency government will present social and economic data for last year and forecasts on the regency's social and economic potential up until 2009.

"Our targets are not just the people of Sleman and Indonesia, but the international community as well, especially potential investors. That's why the book is written in two languages, Indonesian and English," said Djaka Waluya of Sleman's Local Development Planning Board (Bappeda), who also served as a consultant for the publication of the year book.

Due to the limited budget for the project -- some Rp 100 million (US$ 10,526) -- only 1,000 copies of the year book are to be printed.

"The main idea is that we want to make the book as accessible as possible to the community at large as this is a manifestation of the Sleman government's accountability. Everything is transparently presented here. Nothing is hidden," Nogati added.

According to Nogati, who also served as the team leader for the publication project, Sleman Regent Ibnu Subiyanto had been promising ever since he was installed as regent some four years ago to publish such a year book, and especially the local government's accounts. However, it was only in the fourth year of his term that the plan was capable of being realized.

The year book was drawn up with the assistance of BIGG (Building Institutions for Good Governance), a non-governmental organization (NGO), and Gadjah Mada University's Center for Accountancy Studies, Nogati said.

Comparative studies abroad were also conducted, including ones in Canada and a number of European countries, to see how local governments there published their annual reports. The studies were conducted by Nogati at the same time as tourism promotions organized by the Sleman government.