Getting the (Court) House in Order

Sometimes the workers could be found on their hands and knees, searching for the label. Other times, it was easily spotted. This (often physical!) activity is part of a nation-wide inventory of property belonging to the court system.

By counting everything from bookshelves and computers to cars and motorbikes, the courts are taking a step towards professionalism and away from corruption. Keeping better track of the goods that belong to the court system will reduce the likelihood that items go missing or are inappropriately used for personal use.

In many courts around the country, the individual responsible for tracking inventory also wears a number of other “hats” such as being the court registrar. Pak Desrewedi, who has been working at the Appellate Court in Solok, West Sumatra, for 9 years, said he enjoyed his job working on asset management, but from time to time he encountered problems. “Sometimes on the procurement printout, an item will exist, but it won’t be in the room,” he explains. “So I have to go around to other rooms to try to find it.” This common challenge is one that the Government of Indonesia, with assistance from the MCC Indonesia Control of Corruption Project (MCC/ ICCP) is trying to address. Court staff like Pak Desrewedi will receive on-the-job training on how to input data into a new government-wide inventory system and also on what to do when an asset is missing.

The inventory of court assets throughout the country is part of a massive government-wide undertaking, led by the Ministry of Finance, to professionalize the Government of Indonesia and the make government use of state property transparent and accountable. The inventory and asset management activities are part of a larger anti-corruption program the Supreme Court and MCC/ ICCP are working on which includes greater judicial transparency, adherence to wealth reporting statutes, and judicial code of conduct.

The MCC Threshold Program comprises a $55 million grant over two years focused on anti-corruption ($35 million) and immunization ($20 million) activities. The Program will be implemented from 2007 – 2009.

All MCC Threshold Program activities