More regions cut bureaucratic lines

Irawaty Wardany, The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali

The move by Sragen regent to cut red tape in pursuit of good governance in the Central Java regency has inspired other regions to follow, including Bali's Denpasar mayoralty.

"At first we established integrated service units in each government agency, but then we realized that it was not enough to really reform the bureaucracy," Denpasar Deputy Mayor Rai Dharmawijaya told reporters Tuesday after an international seminar on fighting bribery in Nusa Dua, Bali.

Sragen is the pioneer regency in the country to introduce one-stop licensing services through an online system that connects all of its district offices.

Rai said the Denpasar administration decided to also impose a one-stop service office.

"We now have the licensing agency to handle the issuance of all kinds of licenses," he said.

The new agency was established on October 29 and would be inaugurated Thursday by Denpasar Mayor Aan Puspayoga.

"Through this agency, we want to really reform the bureaucracy here," Aan said.

"So if you go to the agency's office, forget the old image of a government's office."

Indonesian government offices have long been known for their complicated and long process of bureaucracy -- a reputation alleged to have made them prone to corruption.

Rai said they had been trying to change the working attitude of officials throughout the Denpasar administration by introducing a philosophy called Sewaka Dharma in Sanskrit -- service is part of religious devotion.

"We have also made the whole licensing process transparent through our online system," he said.

He said the electronic system had been established since August 2006, thanks to assistance from the Indonesian Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

Rai said prior to establishing the online system, they had first made a visit to Sragen regency, which had pioneered the system.

He said people could see all the procedures and the requirements needed for securing a license through http://upt.denpasarkota.go.id.

Currently, there were 49 licensing and 16 non-licensing documents, including ID cards and family cards, that could be processed online.

Through the website, people can download application forms and complete various documents before submitting them to the licensing agency.

"People can check the status of their application anytime by logging in their registration number," Rai said.

He said they were also helping local micro- and smaller entrepreneurs to market their products electronically.

"We have familiarized this program since February 2006, and dozens of micro- and small entrepreneurs have been able to trade abroad themselves," Rai said.

Besides Sragen and Denpasar, East Kalimantan and Gorontalo provinces, Solok regency in West Sumatra and Surabaya municipality in East Java had established integrated services for the public.

Most of the regions said they had successfully cut the time needed for license processing from several months to less-than 10 days.

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