Jakarta – The Finance Ministry will transfer 112 echelon III and IV officials holding "structural" jobs at the ministry's Fiscal Policy Agency (BKF) as part of a program to improve efficiency and simplify government bureaucracy.
"One hundred and twelve officials in echelon III and IV will be transferred to functional positions," said Finance Minister Sri Mulyani, as reported by Kompas.com on Nov. 29.
Specifically, 19 out of 36 officials at the echelon III level will be moved and given "functional" roles at the BKF, and 74 out of 124 employees in echelon IV will also be transferred to functional roles at the agency.
Despite the removal of 112 officials, the finance minister has appointed 25 officials to hold structural jobs in echelon II at the BKF. They were selected from 1,681 officials at echelon III based on track record, integrity and digital footprint assessments.
Echelons are ranks of structural jobs in government offices. At the ministerial level, there are four main echelons. Structural positions in echelon I, the highest rank, work below the minister and include the secretary-general, the inspectorate general, the director-general and the chairman of agencies.
Structural positions in echelon II are the heads of bureaus, the secretary of the Directorate General and the secretaries of agencies, while those in echelon III are heads of departments and divisions. The structural jobs in echelon IV are the heads of sub-divisions and sections.
The Finance Ministry's decision to reduce structural jobs in echelons III and IV came in response to President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's recent statement that he wanted to eliminate overlapping roles at various ministries and agencies.
"I have ordered ministers to replace echelon III and IV officials with AI. Our bureaucracy will be faster with AI, but it will depend on the omnibus law," the president said in Jakarta Nov. 28. (bry)