DPRD Highlights WFA Policy ASN Surabaya City Government, Worried That Public Service Performance Will Even Decrease

Chairman of Commission A DPRD Surabaya Yona Bagus Widyatmoko. BETWEEN/HO-Tim Yona

JAKARTA - Chairman of Commission A of the Surabaya DPRD, Yona Bagus Widyatmoko, the Work From Anywhere (WFA) policy plan for State Civil Apparatus (ASN) within the Surabaya City Government (Pemkot).

"Although it aims for budget efficiency, we assess that this policy risks reducing the quality of public services if it is not closely monitored," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Monday, February 17.

Yona said budget efficiency is indeed necessary, but it is not necessary to sacrifice the government's effectiveness in carrying out its duties and optimal public services must remain a top priority.

"We do support budget efficiency, but keep in mind that ASN's work is directly related to services to the community. If it is not managed properly, this can have an impact on the quality of public services," he said.

Yona said the need for a clear control system towards this policy following the expected efficiency of WFA such as reducing office, electricity and transportation operational costs, must be balanced with ASN productivity in carrying out its duties.

"Work From Anywhere is indeed possible for savings, but we need to ensure that ASN remains productive and does not rely solely on technology. Tighter supervision must be carried out so that ASN's performance is not disrupted," he said.

Yona reminded that transparency in WFA implementation is a key factor in the success of this policy where the Surabaya City Government must be careful so that WFA does not become justification for budget cuts without considering service quality.

"This system must be evaluated regularly to ascertain whether there really is efficiency or justification to reduce the budget without paying attention to the quality of work," he said.

He said the potential negative impact of this policy was on the spirit of work and effort of the ASN Surabaya City Government considering that without a strict monitoring mechanism, WFA could cause various problems, including reduced responsibility of ASN to public services.

"To what extent can WFA's effectiveness support a significant efficiency program? Do not let this policy cause a lot of losses, especially in public services and the decline in the Surabaya City Government's HR efforts," he said.

He emphasized that if the WFA system is implemented with the Surabaya City Government ASN, his party will continue to supervise so that this policy can run according to plan. He hopes that this WFA policy will not only be useful for cost savings, but can also improve the government's performance in providing services to the community.

"We will make sure that even though ASN works from outside the office, the quality of public services is not disturbed," he said.