Slow Licensure Leads to Briberies

KOMPAS/ALIF ICHWAN

A press conference on law enforcement and state officials is held at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) building in Jakarta on Tuesday (4/9/2018). The press conference was held after a closed-door meeting attended by representatives of the Home Ministry, the KPK, and the Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Ministry

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Public service bureaucracy in many regions tend to be slow and this indirectly leads to a high prevalence of bribery taking place.

Efforts by the Joko “Jokowi” Widodo administration to simplify permit issuance procedures by establishing a transparent system through One Stop Integrated Service (PTSP) centers are yet to have an optimal affect in many regions. Public service bureaucracy in many regions tend to be slow and this indirectly leads to a high prevalence of bribery taking place.

Businesspeople are often forced to bribe public officials to speed up licensure in regions. Such practices ended up increasing the final products’ market price as consumers were expected to share the burden, said officials.

In the World Bank’s 2019 Ease of Doing Business (EODB) Index, Indonesia, represented by Jakarta and Surabaya, ranked 73rd out of 190 countries, which is one place lower than the 2018 index. This reflects the non-optimal bureaucratic reforms across Indonesian. Licensure in construction, setting up businesses and the transfer of land and building rights, has yet to meet the public’s expectations.

“The authority to issue these three permits lies with regional governments. Our bureaucracy often takes too long to process licenses. Sometimes, they are neglected. Sometimes, there are unnecessary negotiations with license seekers,” Regional Autonomy Watch (KPPOD) executive director Robert Endi Jaweng said in Jakarta on Thursday.

Such illicit practices often lead to public officials and businesspeople being arrested by the authorities. Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) data showed that there were 242 corruption cases at regency and city administration level, as well as 116 corruption cases in provincial administrations from 2014 to June this year.

Robert explained that corruption occurred because results-oriented businesspeople were up against a bureaucratic process hamstrung by red tape. “Businesspeople’s pragmatism is often in conflict with our bureaucracy’s old-school way of doing things. It is here that illegal levies and corruption occur,” he said.

The State Administration Agency’s (LAN) decentralization and regional autonomy research center head, Hary Supriadi, said he was worried that public officials were deliberately nurturing a culture in which bribery flourishes.

“Sometimes, licensure is deliberately made difficult for license seekers so that opportunities for transactions can emerge,” Hary added.

Businesspeople constructing low-income houses have complained about the difficulties they have faced. After an audience with Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Indonesian Housing Development Association (Apersi) chairman Junaidi Abdillah said illegal levies in construction licensure have led to the price of subsidized houses being 20 percent higher than it should be.

“The main problem [in providing houses for low-income people] is licensure at regional government level and the State Land Agency [BPN]. It’s just too long and costly,” Junaidi said.

He added that subsidized housing for low-income people was regulated in Government Regulation (PP) No. 64/2016, which includes stipulations on licensure simplification and time limits. However, many regional governments do not adhere to the regulation and often force homebuilders to pay for additional licenses, such as environmental management and regional government environmental monitoring. This is despite the fact that the regulation only requires a statement of a developer’s preparedness for environmental management and monitoring. “Regional governments also force us to take care of a ‘location license’, despite it not being stipulated [in the PP]. Antiquated licenses are still being forced upon us in regions,” Junaidi said.

KPK spokesperson Febri Diansyah said the arrests of several Central Kalimantan lawmakers and an executive of PT Binasawit Abadi Pratama in a bribery case had revealed another licensure problem. He added that the KPK would support the strengthening of the licensure system through PTSP centers so that businesspeople needed only to visit one center to take care of all required licenses.

Harmonization

The lack of public service synchronization at central and regional government level is one of the most crucial issues for the business world right now. Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) chairperson Rosan Perkasa Roeslani said businesspeople in the regions were still facing difficulties with licensure.

“Local and foreign businesspeople often complain about the lack of harmonization between the policies of central and regional governments. The central government has clearly stipulated the requirements, but then the regional government would add more [requirements]. This leads to an unhealthy climate to do business,” Rosan added.

He said he hoped that licensure in regions would be more efficient and transparent. “This will reduce the number of times that businesspeople and regulators meet. The opportunity for illicit activities will also be reduced. All procedures will become clear,” he said.

Jakarta, for instance, has established a Public Service Mall where residents can request licenses and population documents. Surabaya has implemented an IT-based system for transparent and accountable licensure.

Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini said electronic-based systems have reduced direct contact between licensors and license seekers and, therefore, reduced the opportunity for corruption and collusion. “I can monitor the activities of all civil servants via my gadget, even when I am abroad. I can also sign licenses electronically,” added Risma who monitors the performance of civil servants, from agency to subdistrict heads, through instant messaging apps.

Banyuwangi Regent Abdullah Azwar Anas said, with proper public service, people’s welfare would automatically be boosted. Azwar added that he had delegated most of his duties to district heads and cut down on bureaucratic red tape by using information technology to speed up licensure.

House of Representatives Commission II members Achmad Baidowi of the United Development Party (PPP) and Abdul Hakam Naja of the National Mandate Party (PAN) said they had urged the government to give serious attention to regional leaders with a strong commitment to bureaucratic reform, adding that the central government should also punish regional leaders who refuse to carry out bureaucratic reforms.

“The punishment can be in the form of cutting budget transfers to regions whose administrations refuse to implement bureaucratic reforms,” Achmad said. (BOW/LAS/ETA/IAN/APA)