Incompatibility and Decentralisation Theory: A Review on Indonesian Regional Government Practice

The institutionalisation of regional autonomy in South Sulawesi faces
incompatibility in two dimensions; territorial needs and government
authority. This causes confusion in state administration in the frame of
central and regional government relations. By using a qualitative
method, this study analyses the issue of incompatibility between
decentralisation theory and the practice of regional government
authority in South Sulawesi. To represent the characteristics of city
and district administration, Makassar City and Gowa District
Government were chosen as samples. Data collection was carried out
by in-depth interviews and field observations during August�November 2018. 15 samples were chosen to represent decentralised
authority, such as education and public services, government
community leaders, traditional leaders, and government figures. This
study found that the implementation of decentralisation theory in
Indonesia was born from various ruling regime perspectives. This
paper also found that first, the transition to regional autonomy from a
district/city to a province has led to incompatibility theory of
decentralisation in managing regional government affairs. Second, the
lack of synchronisation of various laws and regulations in government
administration produce un-optimal public services in the education
sector. Furthermore, studies are needed to synchronise the state and the
government systems which are used in the transfer of authority in
central and regional governance systems.
Key words: Incompatibility, decentralisation, local autonomy, local government.