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Indonesia begins restructuring of 430,000 civil servant jobs
The government has begun an assessment to reform the civil service, but some lawmakers have warned the President to be careful in his appreach.
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Illustration photo of people taking an entrance test to become civil servants. (tribunnews.com/-)
T
he government has begun an assessment of middle and lower job positions at state institutions in the first nationwide move to streamline the bureaucracy in the country that may put hundreds of thousands of civil servants at risk of losing some of their income.
Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Minister Tjahjo Kumolo issued an instruction letter on Monday that orders government institutions to assess, map out and suggest ways to simplify roles for civil servants of the levels categorized as echelon III, IV and V.
The new bureaucratic redesign involves the elimination of a number of positions at those levels and the redirection of about 430,000 civil servants into functional jobs that are considered more effective and efficient in public service delivery.
The instruction, aimed at realizing one of the major goals of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s second term, states that the cuts and transfers from the echelon structure to functional positions should be carried out by the end of June.
“We have undergone some bureaucratic reform, but it’s only skin deep. What [the President] wants is reform at the heart of the bureaucracy,” Tjahjo said on Tuesday after meeting Jokowi at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta.
Jokowi has said frequently, including during his inauguration speech on Oct. 20, that the very hierarchical structure of the civil service and long procedures caused delays in the country's bureaucracy that hampered domestic and foreign investment.
He said the five levels in the current echelon structure of the civil service were “too many” and should be cut down to two as some are replaced by functional positions based on skills and competence.
