Jakarta – The city administration is having trouble providing jobs for some 40,000 government employees whose ministries were closed down by the central government.

According to the deputy governor for administrative affairs, Mr Abdul Kahfi, his office would be very selective in recruiting government employees from dissolved ministries.

"Of course, this is a burden for us. But the law on regional autonomy states that it is compulsory for us to take care of these employees, so we just have to find a way to give them jobs," he noted on Friday.

He said the city administration would give priority to those who were young, well-educated and able to pass tests conducted by its recruitment team. "Those who are already of pension age, we will not accept. So they will have to take their pensions," Mr Kahfi stated.

The administration of President Abdurrahman Wahid has liquidated several ministries and offices of state ministers since coming to power last October. The Ministry of Information and Ministry of Social Affairs were dissolved in the same month, leaving some 78,000 people across the country jobless and facing uncertain futures.

In a major overhaul last month, the President reduced his Cabinet from 32 ministers to 26, merging several ministries and dissolving others.

In an amendment to this year's city budget, the administration has allocated funds to hire 1,136 employees from four dissolved offices of state ministers. Said Mr Kahfi: "We want to settle the placements as soon as we can, but we all know the city has just recovered from the economic crisis and we have other priorities. "So we have to be very selective about this," he added.