Anies told to make regulations on special staffers

DKI JAKARTA - JAKARTA. Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan was called on to deliberate regulations on special staffers before he proceeds with his plan to allocate the budget for dozens of his special staffers.

Anies had revised a gubernatorial decree limiting the Governor’s Team for Development Acceleration (TGUPP) to 15 people. In his revision, Anies increased the limit, enabling him to recruit 73 team members.

The 2018 city draft budget allocated Rp 28.5 billion (US$1.9 million) for the team, which will work on five different fields: development acceleration, corruption eradication, regulation harmonization, coastal management and economy and development.

His plan was then criticized by many, including Home Ministry Director General of Regional Autonomy Sumarsono on Wednesday.

Sumarsono said the number of special staffers was indeed at the governor’s discretion, but the governor should also be transparent on where the staffers work and what their responsibilities are.

He deemed that the large number of special staffers would create overlapping duties among them and civil servants in the administration, who usually are positioned as the governor’s deputies.

"If the TGUPP is more salient, then what are the deputies are for? The deputy position is a formal structure established in the Jakarta administration,” he explained.

He further advised Anies to make detailed regulations on the TGUPP, particularly on their duties, to avoid overlapping responsibilities. (agn)