Making regional autonomy work Arif Nurdiansah and Hindijani Novita   ;    The writers work for the Partnership for Governance Reform (Kemitraan)

JAKARTA POST,  23 Januari 2014

                                                                                                                        

                                                                                         

Many say regional autonomy seems to have grown out of control.  After a decade of decentralization (1999-2009), 235 new autonomous regions (DOB) have been created, namely seven provinces, 194 regencies and 34 municipalities. In contrast, during 54 years of the pre-regional autonomy period, only 319 autonomous regions were formed. If the central objective of regional autonomy was to accelerate development and improve the welfare of local people, then it has been a failure.  The policy has led to more dependence on the part of new regions on the central government for resources because of the former’s poor management and lack of skills.   Regional autonomy has also failed to streamline the bureaucratic and administrative process because many operational matters remain under the control of the central government. It has become quite obvious that, in many cases, short-term interests have hijacked regional autonomy and have (mis)used it to boost their power and, hence, access to resources.  This bleak picture is confirmed by the Home Ministry in its evaluation of regional autonomy, which finds 80 percent of these new regions to be floundering, with some already failed. The poor performance is a result of a lack of preparation and institutional readiness, particularly in the first three years after the formation of a region. The perceived spoils of autonomy can attract corruption and conflict. In northern Morowali, Central Sulawesi, local residents destroyed at least two government cars after the central government declined their request for creation of North Morowali regency. Their anger was fuelled by the fact that fees had been paid to government officials to expedite the regional division process.  The Morowali deputy regent told Tempo magazine (Jan. 20) the regional partition process was plagued by corruption, collusion and nepotism at the highest levels of government.  In an attempt to halt the proliferation of new polities, the government introduced the Grand Design for Regional Arrangements (Desartada) 2010-2025, and declared a moratorium of formation of new regions in 2009. The government hopes the Desartada will focus attention on the responsibilities of existing institutions and resources.  The ideal regional arrangement needs to incorporate policies for establishment, amalgamation, as well as an evaluation of capacity and the best way to empower autonomous regions.  The Desartada includes a three-year preparation phase before deciding whether a region is eligible for become autonomous, allowing a period for the new region to find its feet.  Establishing new regions is not only about distributing power and subsidies, but relies very much on the quality of their natural and human resources. The success of regional autonomy is measured by the increase in income per capita, gross regional domestic income, the human development index, the delivery of public services, economic competitiveness and social security.  The legal basis for the establishment of new regions is found in Article 7, Paragraph 3 of the draft amendment to the Local Government Law currently being deliberated at the House of Representatives. During three years of preparation, disagreements over the capital city, territorial borders and division of assets should be resolved, so that when established, the new region can focus on public service delivery, the acceleration of democratization and local economic development to improve people’s welfare.  It is imperative that the amendment to the Local Government Law be enacted as soon as possible, to enable prospective new regions to adequately prepare for the regional division. The preparatory period is not a new concept. During the implementation of Law No 5/1974 on the basics of governing in the regions, this concept was used when establishing an administrative city (kotip) before it was promoted to an autonomous municipality. With this kind of preparatory phase, the new polities will undergo an embryonic phase, so that they can develop the infrastructure needed to build an advanced and independent autonomous region.  To measure the readiness of a region, the government needs to formulate criteria to determine the status of prospective regions.  Kemitraan (2012) identifies the three factors as: geography and natural resources to support the region; demographic information about the numbers and characteristics of the population — taking into account the quantity and quality of human resources; and institutional factors comprising security and defense systems, social politics, economics and finance, public administration and government management.  If in three years, the potential region cannot meet these criteria, then it should be merged back into the principal region. A region should develop a design for regional arrangements involving the public. Public participation would mean the people most affected could have some control of the process relating to regional arrangement planning. West Kalimantan has adopted this approach.  Without public participation in the creation of the regions, exercising regional autonomy to improve public welfare is only a dream. ●