Mayors share ideas on good governance

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 10/29/2010 11:05 AM

Anticorruption award-winning mayors shared ideas on key strategies to bring about good governance in their respective administrations throughout their ground-breaking tenure at the Bung Hatta Anticorruption Award 2010.

The awards were officially handed to Yogyakarta Mayor Herry Zudianto and Surakarta Mayor Joko Widodo on Thursday night in a ceremony attended by well-respected figures — including academics, activists and the media — concerned with corruption eradication.

The judges chose the two over 36 other candidates.

Herry, however, asked that his award to be bestowed to his administration, saying that the achievement would not have been possible without all the civil servants in his office.

“Good governance in Indonesia is like a rolling snowball: it can’t be stopped,” he said. “The paradigm shift can come from outside forces, or it can come from our willingness to change.”

Some of the novel systems that Herry has implemented in his administration include a one-stop licensing agency in which one office handles all administration procedures and the information and complaint service unit through which Yogyakarta residents voice their aspirations.

Herry added that he viewed leadership not as an avowal of social position, but as a sharing of responsibility with his colleagues.

“I consider myself more as the head of services in Yogyakarta rather than a mayor,” he said, adding that he nurtured his spirit of service during his previous profession as a batik entrepreneur.

Joko, who was a furniture entrepreneur before assuming office, said that he too implemented lessons learnt during his previous profession in his administration.

He stated that in his 21 years of dealing with foreign customers, he learnt the importance of quality, timeliness and finances, which he implemented by strengthening small-scale enterprises in Surakarta.

Joko is lauded for his success in the peaceful relocation of 5,817 street vendors and the establishment of 15 markets in his five years in office.

Clear-cut communication detailing the benefits of relocation overcame the vendors’ fears, he said.

“I apply the same method of communication with fellow politicians. I talk to them and provide them with detailed explanations of my concept,” he said.

Natalia Subagjo, one of the founders of the foundation giving out the award, which was established in 2003, said bureaucratic reforms were the focus of this year’s award.

“It was not easy to fund non-corrupt individuals in this country,” she said. “But it wasn’t impossible since there are still many individuals who hold onto their integrity and remain unaffected by the habits of those around them. Instead, they are the ones who influence their surroundings.” (gzl)