A toothless tiger called regional inspectorate

Slow action: A new Bill will give Indonesia’s National Inspectorate greater independence and professionalism, but the infamously lethargic lawmakers’ piles of backlogged Bills awaiting deliberation means that the change will take a while.

THE arrests of seven regional heads over the past two months on corruption charges show that local inspectorates are helpless at best and impotent at worst.

Little is known about the inspectorates in ministries down to the regency level, let alone their achievements as supervisory institutions funded with taxpayer money to guard state coffers and promote accountable governance.