124 administrations can’t pay civil servants

Citing budget deficits due to personnel expenses, 124 regencies and municipalities cannot afford to pay their civil servants, an official says.

“There are 124 out of 491 regencies and municipalities nationwide that can’t pay their civil servants’ salaries,” Sadu Wasistiono, a staff expert for the Home Affairs Minister, said as quoted by Antara news agency.

Sadu declined to name the regencies and municipalities.

He said that the regencies and municipalities had too many civil servants, which created a wage burden for their budgets.

“Those regencies and municipalities’ administrations have no plan for installing new civil servants. Every year, they appoint new civil servants who are not necessarily needed,” Sadu added.

According to Sadu, the central government is proposing a moratorium of installing new civil servants for the next two years. Sadu said that the moratorium would reduce the number of civil servants because some 200 to 250 civil servants would retire every year. Fewer civil servants will reduce the personnel expenditure in each regency and municipality.

“The moratorium is being discussed,” Sadu said, adding that the moratorium would be enacted in a presidential decree.