Indonesia: Democracy and the Promise of Good Governance

9. The Civil Service: Towards Eficiency, Effectiveness and Honesty

159 9 The Civil Service: Towards Efficiency, Effectiveness and Honesty Staffan Synnerstrom Introduction In this chapter I outline what civil service reform needs to address and what it should achieve, as well as how it should be implemented to secure progress and sustainable outcomes. The chapter sets out a strategic framework for civil service reform and the objectives to be achieved under such a framework. It is written from a civil service policy-making perspective, focusing on technical solutions based on sound international practices. I argue that there are two key paths to improved performance: increased transparency and strengthened accountability. I identify two prerequisites for a sustainable improvement in civil service performance and elaborate seven immediate and long-term objectives. All the objectives are important and need to be addressed simultaneously, although they will take varying lengths of time to be achieved. Finally, I argue that successful civil service reform requires a gradual approach, targeting selected key institutions in the early stages. This can be expanded to other targets later as reform gains momentum and good practices can be replicated. The political dimensions attached to any reform related to the public sector workforce are barely touched on in this chapter, although these will be of utmost importance for decision makers if they decide on a comprehensive program of civil service reform. Clearly political considerations are not always favourable to achieving technical or rational objectives. 160   Staffan Synnerstrom Background The legacy of the authoritarian New Order regime can be characterised briefly as non-transparent processes, underfunded institutions, an inadequately skilled public workforce, and institutionalised corruption reflecting a self-serving and opaque administration. Today, however, Indonesian public institutions are expected to secure democracy, support a market economy and provide good governance. Experience from other countries shows that such a transformation of public institutions needs time, strong commitment, persistent effort and determined leadership. These requirements were not met in Indonesia during the first six years of post-Soeharto government. It was not until President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono took office in late 2004 that there were indications of a strong commitment to reforms, albeit with some doubt as to the capacity of the government to see them through (see, for example, Basri and Patunru 2006: 316). Crucial to progress towards deepened democracy in Indonesia is civil service reform. A broad consensus on the necessity for this has gradually emerged. A large number of civil service reforms are being implemented at all levels of government, mostly with the support of multilateral or bilateral funding institutions. The sustainability of many of those interventions can be questioned, however, as long as a strategic framework for civil service reform is lacking and as long as fundamental features of the civil service system continue to provide distorted performance incentives. In spite of the president’s ambitions, there has been very little action from the leaders and institutions that should spearhead reform. Civil service reform is often presented as simply a matter of reforming human resource management practices. This is important, but it is not enough. Civil service reform must be both broader and deeper than that, while at the same time selective. It must target features of the civil service that preserve old behaviour in defiance of new legislation and the new democratic system of government. It must also target the way public institutions are structured, operate and are financed, in addition to human resource management practices and the distorted incentives facing individual civil servants. The Indonesian Civil Service In December 2005 there were 3.6 million civil servants, excluding the military and the police. This is a relatively modest number considering that Indonesia has about 220 million inhabitants. Approximately 2.5 million civil servants, most of them teachers and health care workers, are posted to regional governments. Civil servants belong to one national civil service. Law No. 43/1999 on the Civil Service defines two types of civil service position: ‘structural’ and ‘functional’. A structural position is The Civil Service   161 a management position within a hierarchy of 17 ranks divided into four echelons. A functional position is a non-management position involving a specialised activity, and is occupied by an individual with particular expertise. While functional positions are common in the health and education sectors (doctors, nurses, teachers), core administrative institutions are dominated by structural positions. Structural positions are considered more attractive than functional ones, as they provide better prospects in relation to career advancement...