TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Eko Prasojo, the minister for administrative reform, was not surprised when president-elect Joko Widodo's transition team focused on the government's Rp18 trillion budget on official travel. During his term he pondered over it and tried to reduce the amount. "I offered three alternatives on the cabinet's new structure," Prasojo told Tempo reporters Bagja Hidayat and Muhammad Muhyiddin.

Can this Rp18 trillion budget for official travel be described as inefficient?

I cannot answer that question because I must see whether those official trips can be linked to performance or not. To achieve a certain outcome, public servants must go on trips, each ministry and agency must be able to disseminate their programs and policies to the provinces. The problem is that those trips have become a source of additional income for them.

Is that allowed?

According to regulations, that is allowed insofar as it is connected to their organization's duties, programs and activities. The public servants' salaries consist of basic wages, plus structural and functional add-ons. It's not enough, so the per diem and so forth are welcome additions, with the expectation that they will work hard to serve the public. But in terms of income, the amount is not significant.

Have you ever estimated how much ends up in personal pockets?

Out of Rp10 million spent by the state for each employee for a two- or three-day official trip, the amount that is kept for private use would be about Rp1 million. That's why people opt to have meetings out of town, in Bekasi or Bogor, because the cost is greater than having them in Jakarta.

So, it can be classified as inefficient?

I have submitted proposals on how to reduce it, for example, to have meetings by teleconference. Each ministry and agency should be equipped with such facilities. Perhaps the cost of setting up will initially be huge, but they can be used over again for years. Second, senior officials must carefully check the objective of the trips and whether they will have an impact on public services. The inspectors' office must be involved in this due diligence. Third, there are specific rules on the number of people going and the number of days spent on the trip, so that they fit the strategy sought.

Would that solve the root of the problem?

The level of efficiency measured can be used to build a better system of wages. With current salaries, employees are always looking for additional sources. It's a small amount it's true, but when 4.3 million employees go on official trips, the total amount spent can be huge. Right now we are preparing a single salary system so that the wages are more transparent. One of the rules currently being prepared by the government is the wage system and retirement funds. Hopefully, it can be signed off before the end of President Yudhoyono's term. (*)

Read the full interview in this week's edition of Tempo English Magazine