National strategy on anti-corruption

Indonesia’s national anti-corruption plan or Stranas PK¹ is essentially a policy the government developed to mainstream strategies and accelerate reforms in countering corruption in three areas: licensing and trading, state finance, as well as law enforcement and bureaucratic reform.

However, TI Indonesia has found that the capacity of implementing units monitored was, in general, inadequate.² Of the five dimensions monitored, aspects of accountability, corruption risk mitigation and community engagement have not been carried out effectively. The obstacles that arise are mainly due to the lack of political support from the regional head, so that these units cannot enforce their authority because of insufficient human and financial resources. At the same time, political intervention in this unit, especially in strategic sectors such as public procurement, is still rampant.

Moreover, the action plans contained within the Stranas PK still rely heavily on output levels, such as complying with certain administrative needs, and do not directly contribute to the root of the problem of corruption in Indonesia: political corruption.

Challenges to effective commitment implementation
TI Indonesia’s monitoring identified three main challenges in the implementation of the Stranas PK.² First, changes in regulations at the national level have had a significant impact on the effectiveness of the work of local governments in carrying out the national strategy mandate. Efforts to coordinate and monitor, as well as actions to prevent corruption within this framework were found to lack adequate political and operational support.

Second, the ability of the implementing units at the regional level is inadequate. The majority of implementing units are low in personnel, technical capacity and resources to perform their duties. In addition to the problem of human resources, budget and infrastructure support in each unit are also poor.

Third, there is a lack of involvement from community groups in the cycle of the policy, including in formulation, implementation and evaluation.

Opportunities to accelerate commitment implementation
Indonesia’s national anti-corruption plan is designed to foster a more secure business and investment climate. The existence of the Stranas PK enables the government to review, synchronise and strengthen coordination in the issuance of regulations. Because it covers many strategic sectors, the commitment to implement the Stranas PK is quite relevant to the needs of donors to open opportunities for more effective and efficient acceleration.

Recommendations
The government and the joint secretariat should ensure proper participation from various parties, particularly from the public, when formulating corruption prevention actions for the year 2021-2022.

The government and the joint secretariat needs to enclose various supporting data and information regarding Stranas PK and make that accessible to the community.

Civil society groups need to be more actively involved in promoting accountability and transparency in the implementation of the national strategy in each region through various instruments, ranging from formulation and monitoring, to strengthening consolidation among fellow civil society groups.