IS POLITICAL DEVOLUTION ENHANCING THE PERFORMANCE OF HEALTH AND EDUCATION SECTORS?: LESSONS FROM A DECENTRALIZED MODE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN INDONESIA

Abstract

The emergence of Decentralization thorough out the world has provoked question whether decentralization has played several important roles in fostering accountable and responsible governance. Furthermore, as the concept of governance expanded, so did thinking about the rationale, objectives, and forms of decentralization. Decentralization now encompasses not only the transfer of power, authority, and responsibility within the government, but also the sharing of authority and resources for shaping public policy within society. One of the important reasons that drives Indonesian government to deliver a democratic decentralization is political reasons. Over time there has been a remaining desire to decentralized fudonesia. This relates to the growing intention to local development throughout the country posed the need for political and administrative arrangement to meet the country's diversity. This paper will describe, explore the nature and the process of political devolution in the context of local government in Indonesia, as well as assessing the political devolution performance for enhancing the quality of health and education sectors in one of the case study in two localities in Indonesia. This paper employ a model that combines Boex and Yilmaz (2010) framework and the Local Governance Barometer (Laberge, Moretto, Narang, & Wilde, 2010) framework for assessing Political devolution performances and its impact to the health and education sectors in a decentralized mode of government. This paper focuses on those issues, and on the opportunities for the local government to improve the most important basic needs of the people- education and health sectors in Indonesia.