Ahok looks to new appraisal system

JAKARTA. To improve the performance of the bureaucracy, the city administration is to adopt a new performance appraisal system to assess the performance of civil servants and set performance allowances, replacing the regional performance allowance (TKD) system.

The amount of performance allowance will vary depending on the performance appraisals of employees.

Acting governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama said the city administration had designed a new application system to assess civil servants’ performance, which would start as of September.

“Each element in the new assessment will generate points that will be converted into rupiah,” he said.

He added that one point could be valued at Rp 40,000 (US$3.3), but would depend on the financial condition of the city administration.

Ahok said the system would also take reports on irregularities into consideration.

“For example, if we have an officer who cannot accomplish tasks due to his superior, he or she should report the case to a higher boss, which will be deserving of a point,” he said.

The acting governor said the assessment would start in September but the granting of the performance allowance would start in January, 2015.

Ahok previously said he planned to give performing employees a special allowance as a reward to maintain their good performance.

Jakarta Employment Agency head I Made Karmayoga said the new performance appraisal system would assist the assessor team.

Made said the new system was aimed at giving rewards to performing employees to improve the bureaucracy’s productivity and the city administration’s performance.

The new system is mandated by Law No 5/2014 on the State Civil Apparatus (ASN) Law.

The law even allows the city administration to downgrade underperforming civil servants.

According to Article 77 of the law, civil servants whose performances do not meet a set target will face sanctions, including dismissals.

Ahok said the law also gave him the authority to appoint qualified people outside the city administration as advisers and expert staff to help run the administration.

According to Article 109, the positions of middle- and high-ranking heads can be filled by non-civil servants with approval from the President. The recruitment for the positions should be conducted openly and competitively.

“If I am running short of qualified employees, I am allowed to hire academics or even professionals to fill in strategic positions,” he said.

Besides using the new appraisal system, the Jakarta Employment Agency will also conduct a new selection mechanism for particular positions.

Made said with the new selection mechanism, there would be a database on qualified employees for strategic positions and they would be recruited when the strategic positions were vacant.

He added the agency would inaugurate all such employees this week.

“With the open-call recruitment, there will be one official who will be appointed as agency head, 64 for coordinating positions and 204 as staff,” he said. (Corry Elyda)