TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Red tape stymies provision of basic services
The hefty cost of local bureaucracy has hampered the provision of basic services throughout Indonesia, according to an official
Change Size
The hefty cost of local bureaucracy has hampered the provision of basic services throughout Indonesia, according to an official.
Budhi Santoso, the director of regional autonomy development for the National Planning Agency, said large local personnel expenditures made it diffi cult to translate regional autonomy into achievements in health and education.
“The national average for personnel expenditures is 50 to 60 percent of the regional budget. There are a lot of regencies that use about 60 to 70 percent of their budget,” Budhi said.
“The proportion is absolutely reducing allocations to basic services, especially those related to programs needed to meet the MDGs [Millennium Development Goals].”
The central government allocates one-third of its budget to support 491 regencies and municipalities with general allocations that are based on population, revenue and fi scal capacity estimates.
The regions also receive several program-based allocations from central government ministries. The central government would channel an estimated Rp 630 billion (US$73.71 million) to regional administrations through both channels in 2011, Budhi said The government has raised civil service salaries well above the infl ation rate, boosting paychecks from 5 to 20 percent since 2006. The highest salary increase was 20 percent in 2008.
Bastian Zaini, an economist for the World Bank, said bureaucratic spending has undermined increases in spending for healthcare and education.
“The portion of capital spending, such as for healthcare in preventing malnutrition, is getting bigger, but the biggest proportion is still for salaries,” he said.
Reducing the number of malnourished people is a component of the fi rst MDG, which provides for the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger.
ndonesia has targeted to decrease the number of malnourished children under 5 from 7.2 percent of all children in 1989 to 3.6 percent by 2015. Regular assessment indicates that Indonesia has been on track in meeting the goal, despite disparities between provinces.
Budhi said regions should better manage the huge sums given to them to do more to achieve the MDGs. A confl ict between regional priorities and budget allocations has led to the uncoordinated provision of basic services, Budhi said. “This weakness of the planning national development comes from the top down. The planning of the central government does not meet regional needs,” he said. (rcf )
