Indonesia Must Improve Its Ease of Doing Business Index: President Jokowi
President Jokowi gives his directive at the Government Work Meeting at the State Palace on Friday (8/4)
In his directive during the Government Work Meeting attended by governors, regents, mayors, deputy governors, deputy regents and deputy mayors at the State Palace on Friday (8/4), President Joko Jokowi Widodo also talked about measures to improve Indonesias Ease of Doing Business (EODB) index.
According to the President based on the World Bank’s Doing Business 2016 ranking, Indonesia is ranked 109thfrom the previous 120thin terms of ease of doing business, lagging behind its neighboring countries: Singapore (1st), Malaysia (18th), Thailand (49th) and Vietnam (90th).
President Jokowi targeted that next year, Indonesias index can improve to number 40. Therefore, the President hopes for supports from regionalgovernments be it cities and provincialgovernments to achieve the target.
What should we do to improve the condition? We must have regulations that facilitate businessmen and investors to run their business, that accelerate their business, especially, micro, small, and medium enterprises (UMKM). We must not have regional regulations that impede them, the President said.
The President also reminded that those regional laws should be able to boost and facilitate people to run business and to make investment; thus, President Jokowi hopes that both the Central Government and regional governments have the same standard.
For example, he added, if the process of obtaining a Permanent Business Trading License (SIUP) can befinished in one hour at the Central Government, then it must be the same in the regions.
President Jokowi went on to say that there are 42,000 regulations that hinder investors and businessmen. He cited an example of buildinga power plant, in which the problem lies in obtaining permits and land acquisition.
There are 59 permits to build a power plant and it takes 2-6 years to complete them all. Now its been cut into 22 permits and it only takes 220 days, the President said.
President Jokowi also hopes that the process to obtain the permits would not take months but would reduce it into a matter of days.
You can imagine why we can lose many opportunities. There are many investors who are interested to make investment here but the permits are so complicated, the President said.
Therefore, President Jokowi called on the regional leaders once again to do de-regulation and cut complicated and complex regulations and said that regional governments must be able to simplify the permits.
The President also expressed the Governments commitment to eliminate complicated permits.
For example, in the process of obtaining a Permanent Business Trading License (SIUP)and the Business Registration(TDP), it isfinally issued by the same institution.
The spirit has to be like that (simplifying things), the President said, adding that all permits for micro, small, and medium enterprises investor both domestic investors and foreign investors, must be given ease because they will provide job opportunities.
The President further said that it would be difficult if Indonesia still has42,000 permits and 3,000 troubled regional laws.
The Government Work Meeting was also attended by Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Darmin Nasution, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Rizal Ramli, Minister of Home Affairs Tjahjo Kumolo, Minister of State Secretary Pratikno, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, Presidential Chief of Staff Teten Masduki, Minister of Public Works and Public Housing Basuki Hadimuljono, and Minister of National Development Planning/Head of the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) Sofyan Djalil. (FID/DND/GUN/ES)(EP/YM/Naster)
