Widodo Risks Misfiring With New Government Streamlining
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Indonesian President-elect Joko Widodo plans to merge some government ministries and spur faster decision making as he seeks a fresh approach. Doing too much, too soon risks distracting from his economic priorities.
Widodo, known as Jokowi, plans to combine trade and agriculture into a new ministry focused on food sovereignty, and merge fisheries and transport into maritime affairs, according to his team. Options under discussion include keeping the number of ministries at the current 34, or paring them down to as few as 20 while keeping the same number of civil servants.