TNI, ministry to boost efficiency

TNI, ministry to boost efficiency

JAKARTA: The Ministry of Defense and the Indonesia Military
(TNI) headquarters have agreed to improve communications aimed at
boosting the efficiency in the procurement of military equipment.

Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono said on Wednesday that
strong communications between the two institutions would be a
basic principle to determine the priority in the purchase of
defense materiel.

"Each military force must propose its realistic needs to the
TNI headquarters in accordance with their priorities, while the
Ministry of Defense will decide whether the state budget can meet
the demand or not," he said after a meeting with Vice President
Jusuf Kalla.

Meanwhile, TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said that he
prefers that the government meet the basic needs of troops, such
as barracks, clothing and guns, most of which, he added, were in
poor condition.

The government is allocating an additional sum of Rp 2
trillion (US$210 billion) for this year's TNI budget, which was
previously set at only Rp 21.9 trillion. --JP