M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – The introduction of regional autonomy in 2001 has increased corruption more than it has improved public services, according to the results of a survey announced Thursday.
The Governance Assessment Survey, conducted by Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University, in collaboration with the Partnership for Governance Reform, found that regional autonomy has done little to improve access to public services for the poor or to professionalize the bureaucracy.
More than 1,800 people, including members of non-governmental organizations and the press, politicians and civil servants, were interviewed across 10 provinces for the survey.
Only 20 percent of respondents believe that human resources at health offices are of good quality. The majority of respondents also say the bureaucracy is more concerned with its own needs than those of the public.
The chief researcher for the survey, Agus Dwiyanto, said 51.4 percent of the respondents were of the opinion that regional budgets were drawn up mainly to serve the interests of local politicians and bureaucrats. "Only 32.4 percent believe the budgets are designed to meet public interests," Agus told a press conference.
Most respondents are also of the opinion that regional budgets are unable to address the basic problems of residents. "Only 25.9 percent of respondents said regional budgets could be used to solve problems at the local level, while 47.5 percent believed the contrary," he said.
There is a widely held perception in the country that decentralization has only helped spread corruption to the regions, and the results of the survey mirrored this belief.
The majority of respondents believe there is a great deal of secrecy in the decision-making process in the awarding of government projects in the regions. Respondents also see corruption as the norm.
Close to 40 percent of those surveyed are of the opinion that it is common for government officials to collect illegal fees when they provide public services.
The fight against corruption appears to be an uphill struggle, with a majority of respondents saying the two main institutions tasked with combating graft – the police and the prosecutor's office – are among the most corrupt state bodies.
"Of 1,844 respondents interviewed, 1,256 said the police have a serious problem with corruption," Agus said.
When it comes to the prosecutor's office, 1,084 respondents say there is a high level of corruption in the body.
Despite the overall bleak view of governance offered by the survey, there were some bright spots.
The survey found that some regional governments scored well with respondents, who viewed them as striving for excellence and representing the best interests of residents.
Gorontalo province was named the best administration with a governance index rating of 0.51, while Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam had the lowest governance rating of 0.36.
"This is good news that everyone should hear about," said Mohammad Sobary, the executive director of Partnership for Governance Reform.