Waskito announces plans to streamline civil service

JAKARTA (JP): The government plans to streamline the civil service through stricter annual recruitment, especially of lower echelon employees.

Chief of the Civil Service Administration Board Waskito Reksosoedirdjo yesterday reported to President Soeharto about the measures to streamline the administration, which he admitted is overladen with low level echelon staffers.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Waskito denied that the size of the Indonesian civil service is excessive.

In percentages, the four million civil servants represent only about 2.25 percent of the population. In contrast, the civil service in Brunei represents 16 percent of the population, in Malaysia four percent and in the Philippines and Thailand 2.5 percent. In France it is also four percent.

"Admittedly there is a problem of poor distribution of the civil servants in Indonesia. There are those who simply spend their day reading newspapers," Waskito said. "This is the problem."

He said that the problem is more apparent if the four million civil servants are broken down in terms of classifications.

The two lowest ranks, One and Two in the echelon classifications, respectively make up 16 and 67 percent of the total. Group Three and Four, the highest ranks, make up only 15 and 0.9 percent respectively.

"This is what needs streamlining," he said, stressing that this was the point made by President Soeharto.

He pointed out that the government will not impose early retirement on its civil servants.

Four million

The government is committed to maintaining the size of the civil service at four million. This means it will only recruit to replace those who leave service at retirement age or die.

Waskito estimated that the government will have to recruit about 50,000 people each year, well down from the 200,000 it recruited annually in the 1980s.

He disclosed that the limited annual recruitment will be selective in accordance with the government's development program priorities.

Of the four million civil servants, 1.7 million are teachers working for state schools and universities.

Now that the government has extended the compulsory education program from six to nine years beginning this year, more teachers will be needed to ensure its success, he said.

Waskito said the President also inquired about the welfare of the state workers and asked that ways be found to make up for the relatively low salaries.

Given the government's own budget constraints, Soeharto suggested ways of enhancing non-material remuneration for civil servants, he said.

Waskito said one way of doing this would be to improve the career development system in the civil service, including promotion.

The award for meritorious services, in the past given only once after 10 years of spotless dedication to the civil service, will now be given at every 10 year interval of service.

This means that a highly motivated and dedicated civil servant can expect up to three Satya Lencana Awards in his career with the government. (emb)