Banjarbaru in South Kalimantan and Cimahi in West Java have made
significant progress compared to other regions, according to the Home
Ministry.
They are the only two well-performing cities among 198 regencies and municipalities formed during the regional autonomy era.
Longer experience in public administration seems to have been a major
factor. Banjarbaru was given administrative status as a city in 1966,
while Cimahi received it in 1975. Their administrations were closely
groomed by the central government, before being among the first official
municipalities when regional autonomy became effective in 2001.
Today,
both municipalities rank higher than other regions in a government
evaluation conducted in April last year. The evaluations were based on
good governance, competitiveness, public service and social welfare.
The
two municipalities were identified as maintaining transparency in
logistics procurement, providing adequate education and health
facilities, and improving per capita income.
It is not clear
whether leadership has always been one of the main factors in the
cities' performances. Cimahi Mayor Itoc Tochija is not free of
controversy.
Critics have accused him of only being able to
absorb some 30 percent of the city budget, while others want to name him
the city's "Father of Development".
Meanwhile, apart from a
number of awards for Banjarbaru, mayor Ruzaidin Noor was among the
regional leaders selected to join an executive training program at
Harvard University in the United States last September.
The two
municipal governments, which have won a number of awards and prizes at
the national and provincial levels, have also launched their own “clean
and green” programs.
In contrast, Paniai and Puncak Jaya, two
regencies given administrative status in 1996 before officially becoming
regencies in 2003, have not delivered much progress.
A low
quality of human resources, security disturbances blamed on the Free
Papua Movement (OPM), skyrocketing prices for basic commodities and
corruption have hindered programs in education, health and
transportation, good governance and social welfare.
The
independent Regional Autonomy Watch (KPPOD) said corruption was the main
factor for the backwardness in low-performing regions — despite
continuous training programs.
Robert Endi Jaweng, KPPOD’s manager of external affairs, cited the 2007 graft case that implicated the Paniai regent.
Home
Minister Gamawan Fauzi said Monday that the performance of local
administrations are particularly hampered by the fact that their
governors, regents and mayors are in jail, serving time for corruption —
or being investigated on graft charges. The ministry's data shows 173
regional heads — or a third of regional heads of 495 regencies and
municipalities and 33 provinces — were being investigated as witnesses,
suspects and defendants from 2004 to 2012.
Currently, 70 percent of them have become convicts, the Kompas daily reported Tuesday.