M. Taufiqurrahman and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – Civil servants still have two months to mess up before the performance contracts they signed with the Office of the State Minister of Administrative Reforms take effect in January 2005.

State Minister of Administrative Reforms Taufiq Effendi said on Friday that starting early next year, government agencies that provide direct services to the public would be given one month to improve their performance or face punishment.

"Government agencies have to improve their services during that period. There will be rewards for those who improve their performance. On the other hand, errant agencies will be punished," Taufiq announced. The contracts require all civil servants and government officials to fight corruption, collusion and nepotism and improve their services.

There are about five million civil servants, half of whom are teachers.

He said that errant civil servants would face the law if found to be in breach of regulations or involved in corruption.

The office of the state minister signed an agreement with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on assessing the performance of government agencies. The agreement gives the minister's office authority to pursue litigation against errant civil servants according to prevailing regulations sanctioning the agencies.

Taufiq said the first government institution to work according to the performance contract was the Jakarta Police. "We have given the Jakarta Police one month to improve their services," he said, adding that public service in the Jakarta Police was among the worst.

Motorists face bureaucratic red-tape in obtaining driver's licenses and vehicle ownerships documents and out of frustration they opt to use the services of the ever-present middlemen.

Taufiq said that other government agencies that had signed contracts were immigration offices around the country under the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights' Directorate General for Immigration. "Soon, the performance improvement drive will target offices of regional administrations and hospitals throughout the country," he said.

He said the contracts would be more effective than raids against errant officials or frequent impromptu visits made by high-ranking state officials. "Such methods only humiliate civil servants, but they don't dissuade them from repeating the same bad behavior," he said.

In a related development, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono reiterated his commitment to fighting corruption and other irregularities. "I declare war against corruption, collusion, nepotism, inefficiency, leakages and other irregularities ... and the law will be upheld in the case of those who continue to engage in the various bad practices of the past," Susilo said.