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Councilors not much ado about nixed overseas trip quota, says won't loosen city's belt
The governor has issued a new regulation that cuts out the previous fixed quota for overseas trips, but the city's councilors believe that sending an extra official or two will not significantly affect next year's budget.
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Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan (left) (kompas.com/Nibras Nada Nailufar)
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mid the City Legislative Council's efforts to keep next year's budget trim as part of its efficiency drive, Governor Anies Baswedan has issued a regulation that amends the fixed quota for official overseas trips with a needs-based criteria.
Aside from amending the article on the number of delegates for official overseas trips, the new regulation drops articles on short courses and training workshops for professional development.
The previous gubernatorial regulation capped the quota for official overseas trips at five city employees, but Anies' new regulation – which took immediate effect as soon as he signed it on Nov. 11 – allows the maximum number of delegates to be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Gubernatorial Regulation No. 123/2019 stipulates that the city administration should consider the effectiveness of any overseas trips when determining the number of delegates to be sent, and requires written approval from either the governor or the city secretary to send more than five city employees.
Muhammad Mawardi, the head of the Jakarta administration's gubernatorial and foreign affairs bureau, said that the number of delegates sent on official overseas trips would depend on the need.
“Official group trips, say, to a sports event, could [require] more than five [officials],” Mawardi said on Monday, but stressed that this was not a reason for the Jakarta administration to send more representatives than necessary.
“The governor should consider, for example, if more than five [officials] have been proposed for the [trip]. But depending on the urgency, it generally requires only two or three [officials],” he said.
