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Field Report
September 2001

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Versi Bahasa Indonesia

Research Team:
Syaikhu Usman, Ilyas Saad, Nina Toyamah, M. Sulton Mawardi, 
Vita Febriany, Pamadi Wibowo

SUMMARY

Past experience indicates that many market regulations only benefit the economic interests of certain groups. In addition, both the central and regional governments have previously put in place various taxes and levies which have resulted in a high cost economy. However, the central government has taken several important steps towards deregulation with the implementation of Law No. 18, 1997 and the Letter of Intent to the IMF issued in January 1998. Since January 2000, Indonesia has also officially begun to implement a policy of decentralization and regional autonomy. It is assured that the implementation of these policies will have an effect on the business climate in the regions because the local governments in the regions have tended to ignore previous efforts in the deregulation process. As part of a series of studies on the implementation process and the emerging impact of decentralization policies and regional autonomy on the business climate in the regions SMERU has recently focused on the provinces of North Sulawesi (Sulut), Gorontalo and three sample kabupaten within these provinces.

During the first five months of the implementation of regional autonomy, the provincial and kabupaten governments in North Sulawesi have made various adjustments to the structure of government administration and their civil service regulations. The SMERU team observed that the local governments have had to face several problems in the process of making these adjustments. These include, the loss of provincial government authority to the kabupaten and kota governments, as well as the difficulties of effectively and efficiently reorganizing the organizational structure of the regions. In addition, local government offices have been instructed to concentrate on contributing to local government revenue without concerning themselves with the quality or quantity of public services. Furthermore, in the formulation of policies, the general public and various community groups have not been able to participate or express their opinions.

At present, the provincial and kabupaten governments are preoccupied with efforts to increase local revenue, reasoning that they are strengthening their financial basis and increasing the general allocation of funds, which they believe, is still too small. They are still planning various local regulations to introduce new taxes and levies, which will create new sources of revenue as well as increasing the level of existing tariffs. A number of local regulations have already been ratified and deemed effective, and several new regulations will come into effect in 2002. There is also still much debate within local government and within the local assemblies about the formulation of various pieces of draft legislation on these issues.

Meanwhile, non-tariff-based regulations or those regulating goods and services are yet to emerge. The exceptions to this are the two decrees devised by the Governor of North Sulawesi. The first of these focuses on pharmacy regulations, limiting the opportunities for business people from outside North Sulawesi who wish to work in the region. The second decree involves the formation of a team to investigate the mechanism to regulate the price of coconut and copra and to attempt to establish a more genuine price for farmers and producers. Aside from this, local business people have made several demands on local government to protect them against competition from entrepreneurs from outside the region.

Several groups within the community have criticized the methods that local government has used in the formation of various local regulations in North Sulawesi, arguing that they have had extremely limited involvement in the discussion process. Even when these groups had been invited to the discussions, they received only a limited explanation of the details of those levies and taxes, which they will be forced to pay. In fact, there is no fundamental objection within the community to paying such levies and taxes, provided that local government offices improve the quality of the services that are provided.

The local governments in North Sulawesi have continued to create levies, and have also tried to attract investors to the region, by speeding up the process of obtaining permits and reducing bureaucratic red tape. Local government has also set out to improve infrastructure to support investment, primarily in the area of transport (focusing on roads and seaports) and communications as well as providing land for investors.

In conclusion, it is generally accepted that the local governments of North Sulawesi face some real dilemmas, which have been extremely difficult to overcome. On the one hand, it seems that local government needs to increase local revenue through the creation of various levies and taxes, as well as responding to the demands of local businesses for protection. On the other, it is clear that there is a need for local government to develop various policies to attract investors. There is considerable concern that if all of this is carried out simultaneously, the government's goal of attracting investors will not be reached, or even more worrying, that those investors who are already in the region will consider relocating elsewhere.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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English Version

Tim Studi:
Syaikhu Usman, Ilyas Saad, Nina Toyamah, M. Sulton Mawardi, 
Vita Febriany, Pamadi Wibowo

RINGKASAN

Pengalaman di masa lalu menunjukkan bahwa berbagai pengaturan pasar hanya menguntungkan kepentingan ekonomi kelompok-kelompok tertentu. Bersamaan dengan itu, adanya pemberlakuan berbagai pungutan (pajak dan retribusi), baik oleh pemerintah daerah (pemda) maupun pusat, akhirnya menciptakan ekonomi biaya tinggi. Berdasarkan kenyataan tersebut pemerintah menempuh upaya deregulasi antara lain dengan dikeluarkannya UU No. 18, 1997 dan LoI Januari 1998. Kemudian sejak Januari 2000, secara resmi Indonesia mengimplementasikan kebijakan desentralisasi dan otonomi daerah. Pelaksanaan kebijakan yang terakhir ini ditengarai akan berdampak pada iklim usaha di daerah, karena cenderung mengabaikan upaya deregulasi sebelumnya. Sehubungan dengan hal tersebut, Tim SMERU melakukan studi tentang pelaksanaan dan kecenderungan dampak kebijakan desentralisasi dan otonomi daerah terhadap iklim usaha di daerah dengan mengambil kasus Propinsi Sulawesi Utara (Sulut) dan tiga kabupaten sampel di Sulut dan Gorontalo.

Setelah kebijakan otonomi daerah berlangsung selama lima bulan, penyesuaian administratif dalam bentuk struktur organisasi pemda dan pengaturan kepegawaian, telah dilakukan baik oleh pemda propinsi maupun pemda kabupaten di Sulut. Dalam proses ini Tim SMERU melihat adanya beberapa permasalahan yang dihadapi pemda, antara lain, hilangnya kewibawaan pemda propinsi atas pemda kabupaten/kota, sulitnya menyusun organisasi perangkat daerah yang efektif dan efisien, dinas-dinas diarahkan agar mampu memberikan kontribusi bagi penerimaan pemda tanpa mengaitkannya dengan kuantitas dan kualitas pelayanan publik, dan dalam perumusan kebijakan publik belum menyerap aspirasi dan partisipasi berbagai kelompok masyarakat.

Dengan alasan untuk memperkuat basis keuangannya dan menambah DAU yang dirasakan jumlahnya masih kurang, saat ini pemda propinsi dan kabupaten disibukkan dengan berbagai usaha untuk meningkatkan penerimaan asli daerah (PAD). Mereka sedang dan telah merancang berbagai perda tentang pajak dan retribusi serta pungutan lainnya, melalui penciptaan sumber penerimaan baru maupun dengan cara meningkatkan tarif pungutan yang sudah ada. Sebagian perda sudah disyahkan dan berlaku secara efektif dan sebagian lagi baru akan diberlakukan pada tahun 2002. Di samping itu perumusan dan pembahasan berbagai raperda masih terus dilakukan baik di lingkungan pemda maupun di tingkat DPRD.

Sementara itu berkenaan dengan regulasi yang sifatnya non-pungutan atau pengaturan pasar komoditi dan jasa belum muncul, kecuali berupa SK Gubernur Sulut tentang pengaturan usaha farmasi yang membatasi peluang pengusaha dari luar Sulut, dan SK Gubernur tentang pembentukan tim pengkajian mekanisme penetapan harga kelapa/kopra yang akan mengupayakan harga kopra yang lebih wajar bagi petani/produsen. Selain itu muncul pula beberapa tuntutan pengusaha lokal agar pemda memproteksi usaha mereka dari persaingan dengan pengusaha luar daerah.

Beberapa kelompok masyarakat menyampaikan pendapat kritis atas proses pembuatan berbagai perda di Sulut dengan menyatakan bahwa mereka kurang dilibatkan dalam proses pembahasannya. Setelah diundangkan pun mereka kurang memperoleh penjelasan tentang seluk beluk pungutan yang akan dikenakan kepada mereka. Meskipun begitu, mereka pada dasarnya tidak berkeberatan membayar pungutan, sepanjang diiringi dengan perbaikan pelayanan oleh instansi pemda.

Bersamaan dengan gencarnya penciptaan perda pungutan, pemda juga berusaha untuk menarik investor ke daerahnya, antara lain dengan mempercepat pelayanan perizinan atau mengurangi jalur birokrasinya. Selain itu pemda juga merencanakan untuk memperbaiki infrastruktur pendukung investasi, terutama di sektor transportasi (jalan dan pelabuhan) dan komunikasi serta menyediakan lahan bagi investor.

Dapat disimpulkan bahwa secara umum pemda di Sulut menghadapi dilema yang sulit dicarikan jalan keluarnya. Di satu sisi, pemda perlu meningkatkan PAD melalui penciptaan berbagai pungutan dan ditambah adanya tuntutan dari pengusaha lokal untuk memperoleh proteksi. Di sisi lain, pemda perlu mengembangkan berbagai kebijakan untuk menarik investor. Kalau hal-hal tersebut dilakukan secara bersamaan, dikhawatirkan tujuan untuk menarik investor tidak akan tercapai, bahkan investor yang sudah ada pun mungkin akan berpikir untuk merelokasi usahanya.

DAFTAR ISI