Editorial: New Regions Eat Up Development Funds
It is no secret that excessive bureaucratic red tape is the bane of Indonesians and one of the key factors holding back further development. While there are hard-working and honest bureaucrats, it is also true that the vast majority of civil servants are neither honest nor hard-working.
So it comes as a huge disappointment that the House of Representatives has approved the formation of 65 new administrative regions nationwide.
In so doing, the House signed off on eight new provinces and 57 new districts and municipalities. Three of these new provinces will be in Papua.
Despite surveys showing that the majority of new regions created since 2004 have failed to improve their residents' prosperity, the legislators have pushed ahead.
House Speaker Marzuki Alie said that the creation of the new regions reflected cultural realities, and was aimed at shortening the chain of authority and improving land management. He said the creation of new regions in border areas would make them less vulnerable to the territorial claims of other countries, despite there being no indications of foreign designs over Indonesian territory.
His justifications are not supported by current evidence or past experience. In fact, the opposite of his stated goals will likely come to pass, as more districts and provinces generate more bureaucratic red tape for businesses and individuals. It will require greater government expenditure, money that is hard to come by and should be better utilized.
The new provinces and districts are expected to cost the central government an additional Rp 65 trillion ($5.9 billion) a year. Most of this money will go toward financing local elections, civil servant salaries, and new offices. Would it not be better to spend this money upgrading the education system, on better health care, and on infrastructure?
Is it too much to ask that the House and the Home Affairs Ministry sit down and work out the most efficient use for scarce funds?
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