THE EFFORT TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE OF PUBLIC SERVICE IN INDONESIA A Study on Fresh Water Service in Makassar, South Sulawesi By : HAMSINAH

DAHLAN & LIESDA DACHLAN

ABSTRACT. In Indonesia, issues on the bureaucracy performance of the public service gets increasing attention from many quarters as its performance is, in providing public services, still socially considered unsatisfactorily that assumed to be a stigma. According to Dwiyanto et.al. (2002) that such a bureaucracy will affect the performance of the government and the society as a whole in the effort to improve competitive advantage. As citizens, each individual has equal right to receive service from the bureaucracy. But in reality, it is not manifested according to expectation. Service provider often tends to give more favor to certain groups which are considered powerful, such as the well-to-do and those with strong bargaining power to the bureaucrats. As a consequence, according to Partini et. al. (2004), a gap occurs between the bureaucracy and the citizens that it should serve. The officers should provide the service in a courteous and fair manner as one of the primary tasks of the bureaucracy is to provide a good service for the society. Such an evident appears from the number of consumers complaints on the performance of the service, which is not congruent with the expectation of the consumers. The number of complaints received by all service units of PDAM (water utility company) in the municipality of Makassar in 2007 is 1,597 complaints. The same condition applies in many other PDAM in Indonesia, such as in Banda Aceh, where the performance of the employees of PDAM Tirta Doroy Banda Aceh received much criticism. According to Bahmi (2001), the public in the urban areas thinks that the PDAM employees are lacking discipline in working. Meanwhile, Kompas reported that the performance of the PDAM Delta Tirta in Sidoarjo is also decreasing, as evident from the worsening quality and flow of water to the consumers. Key words : Indonesia, performance, bureaucracy, public service, fresh water.

INTRODUCTION At present, the performance of public service bureaucracy is an issue which get increasing attention from many quarters. A bureaucracy which has lackluster performance in providing service to the public is considered as a stigma by the society. Therefore, according to Dwiyanto et. al. (2002), such bureaucracy will affect the performance of the government and the society as a whole in the effort to improve competitive advantage. In order to solve this problem, the government through the decree of the Minister of State Apparatus Empowerment (Menpan) No. 63/KEP/M.Pan/7/2003 has provided several guidelines for the public bureaucracy in providing good service. Various principles of service, such as simplicity, clarity, certainty, security, openness, efficiency, economy and fairness are the principles of service which should be accommodated in providing public service. For the principle of simplicity, for instance, Dwiyanto dkk. (2002) has provided an example, which is meant to express that the procedure of public service should be designed in such a way that the provision of service to the public can be easy, smooth, quick, without any red tape, easy to understand and easy to implement. In this way, one of the primary task of the bureaucracy is to provide a good service for the society. As citizens, each individual has equal right to receive service from the bureaucracy. But in reality, it is not manifested according to expectation. Service provider often tends to give more favor to certain groups which are considered powerful, such as the well-to-do and those with strong bargaining power to the bureaucrats, such as the wealthy. As a consequence, according to Partini et. al. (2004), a gap occurs between the bureaucracy and the citizens that it should serve. The officers should provide the service in a courteous and fair manner, however they have not been able to fulfill the expectation of the users in general. The management of an enterprise which is oriented towards costumer should be based on the decree of the Board of Directors of the Water Utility Company (Direksi Perusahaan Daerah Air Minum) Number 1975/B.3a/XII/2002 dated 30th December 2002 concerning the optimization of water service to achieve a good service in the frame of service improvement to the public. Therefore, in order to implement the decree of the Water Utility Company director, several water utility service units were formed in the municipality of Makassar, covering all zones of service. Unfortunately, an impression has emerged among the public that state-owned enterprises which provides services and public goods, such as the water utility company in Makassar, and their service units, has not shown satisfactory capability and performance. This is evident from the number of complaints from the consumers about the performance of the service, which is not congruent with the expectation of the consumers. The number of complaints received by all service units of PDAM (water utility company) in the municipality of Makassar in 2007 is 1,597 complaints. The same condition applies in many other PDAM in Indonesia, such as in Banda Aceh, where the performance of the employees of PDAM Tirta Doroy Banda Aceh received much criticism. This is related to the frequent stoppage of water flow. According to Bahmi (2001), the public in the urban areas thinks that the PDAM

service is severely lacking because the employees are lacking discipline in working. Meanwhile, Kompas reported that the performance of the PDAM Delta Tirta in Sidoarjo is also decreasing, as evident from the worsening quality and flow of water to the consumers. For the last several years, the provision of fresh water has faced several problems, not only in Makassar as the capital of the South Sulawesi province, but also in other regions. The problem is apparent from the many complaints that the water distribution is often interrupted and not equally distributed (Pedoman Rakyat, 29 November 2000; Fajar, 12, 16 and 30 November and 5 December, 2000). According to Lusia (2003) from the report of the members of Forum Peduli Air dan Lingkungan (FPAL) which is distributed in all sub-district (kecamatan) in Makassar, the complaint on the performance of PDAM service units comes most often from the eastern part of Makassar, that is the service units in Sudiang, Daya and Tamalanrea. Especially when the drought season comes near, the people in the eastern part of the municipality of Makassar often complains about the provision of fresh water. The water problem, according to the people, is not a new one but has been dragging on for years. Therefore, they expect that the government and all service units of PDAM in the municipality of Makassar work together to solve this problem. Many problems are faced by the PDAM in Makassar in providing fresh water (Fajar, 27 March 2004), such as the increasing amount of subsidy from the local government for the sale of fresh water from year to year, the high incidence of leaking pipes, about 50 percent. The management of supervision is also not efficient. Technical problems is also part of the picture, such as the increasing murkiness of the water during the rainy season on several water processing plant which is over the standard limit (.5 1.5 NTU). Water supply often drops during certain times such as during the drought season in several parts of the service area. As a result, the PDAM of Makassar has to bear continuing loss as part of the companys great reliance on the subsidy of local government. The parameter which is used for assessing the service performance of the PDAM units can be classified into two approaches. The first approach is to see the service performance from the perspective of the service provider, and the second is from the perspective of the consumer, that is by measuring the perception of the consumers towards the actual service that they receive and their expectation. Ideally, the actual gap between perception and expectation of the consumer should not exist, where it would mean that the service has been delivered satisfactorily because it matches consumer expectation. Generally, the previous research on PDAM, including the PDAM of Makassar, was focused only on the perception of users. However, the quality of service provision, in this case the management of PDAM of the municipality of Makassar, rarely received any attention. Therefore, the quality of public service provision which is influenced by service performance also requires some attention. Parasuraman et. al. (1990) has stressed the importance of assessing the performance of state enterprises in public service, by measuring the gap between the provision of service with the performance expected by the consumer or the public. This means that the performance evaluation for public organization, especially for a regional state-owned company such as the

PDAM in Makassar, should be based on a paradigm, which is focused not only on solving the internal problems of the organization but also on fulfilling the needs of the public whom they should serve, so that the gap between the performance of fresh water service and the consumer expectation can be reduced or eliminated. Based on the above reasoning, the focus of this research is the effort of improving performance, in this case the provision of public service for the PDAM of Makassar. The discussion of this problem is expected to be useful for the public organizations in general, especially the PDAM and their customers.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE The objectives of this field research in all PDAM service units in Makassar is: 1. To analyze and describe the performance of service units of PDAM in the municipality of Makassar in providing service to the consumers 2. To analyze and describe the gap between the performance of PDAM service units in Makassar with the consumer expectation 3. To analyze and describe the effort to improve the performance of PDAM in Makassar in the provision of public service to the consumers

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK The Concept of New Public Management (NPM) New Public Management (NPM) refers to a cluster of ideas and contemporary practice which basically try to apply private sector approaches to the public sector. NPM has become a normative model which marks a great change in the way we think of the roles of public administrators, the nature of the profession, and the whys and hows we do what we do. NPM has gone further than the traditional models in legitimizing public bureaucracies, such as the effort to provide procedural protection in administrative discretion, and tends to give trust to the market and private business method and ideas written in the language of economic rationality (Denhardt & Denhardt, 2003). Mahmudi (2005) added that NPM has a doctrine which is focused on management instead of policy, and on de-bureaucratization, performance and performance evaluation, result-based accountability, splitting up public bureaucracy into working units, the application of market mechanism by contracting-out or outsourcing to help develop the competition in public sector, cost cutting and efficiency, performancebased pay, and managerial discretion in running the organization. This doctrine emphasizes that NPM is related to the increasing importance of customer service, devolution of authority, reform of regulations, reform of budgeting process into performance budgeting. 4

Actually, the changes in the NPM orientation above has been adopted by state-owned enterprises such as PLN (state-owned electric utility company), Telkom and PDAM in Makassar. PDAM in Makassar has adopted the second orientation aspect of NPM, that is decentralization, where authority is delegated to the smaller service units. Unfortunately, the aim of this delegation of responsibility is only to increase bureaucracy. The authority to provide service directly without any letter of instruction (surat perintah kerja, SPK) is not delegated so that the objective of authority delegation is not achieved in the correct sense as understood by NPM.

The Concept and Evaluation of Performance Etymologically, performance comes from the word to perform, which means to do, to carry out, to execute. Prawirosentono (1999) states that the word performance is a noun where one of its entries states that it means thing done. In this way, performance can be understood as the result of work done by an individual or a group in an organization, in accordance with their authority and responsibility, in the effort to achieve the objectives of their organization in a legal, moral and ethical way. There are several views from the experts concerning performance. According to Idris (2006), performance is the result that is required of actors. Dharma (1995) defines performance as the latest term to label the work result of the employee or organization which is used as the basis of evaluation for the employee or organization. Performance here is understood as a work done, or product/service produced by an individual or a group of individuals. Hasibuan (1991) adds that performance is related not only to quantity but also to quality of the work which is carried out by individuals in a certain period of time. In this way, performance is understood as a form of effort, both in quantitative and qualitative term, which is produced by an individual or an organization to achieve the objectives of the organization which serves as the basis of evaluation for the producers. The description of performance is comprised of three important aspects, that is: objective, measurement and evaluation. The determination of objectives of each units in an organization is a strategy to improve performance. This objective will provide a direction and make an impact on the work behavior expected by the organization from each employee. However, the determination alone is not sufficient, since measurement is also needed to decide whether an individual has reached the expected performance. Therefore, the quantitative and qualitative work standards for each task and position have an important role to play. The regular performance evaluation is related to the process of achieving performance objectives for each individual. This will keep each individuals focused on the objectives and behave according to the direction and objectives which need to be achieved. In this way, the idea of performance with description of objective, operational goals and regular evaluation will have an important role in maintaining and improving the motivation of every individuals in the organization. NPM has made positive contribution to the improvement of public sector performance through the mechanism of performance measurement, which is oriented towards the measurement of economy, efficiency and effectiveness (value for money). The

important objectives of NPM is to improve the public sector as an organization which provides efficient and effective public service. Meanwhile, the important contribution of the measurement of public sector performance is the improvement of performance through the application of market mechanism in the public sector as practiced in the private sector. Public sector organization by nature is monopolistic, and performance measurement is meant to serve as a means to create competition (Mahmudi, 2005). The latest method for the multi-source performance evaluation has been developed in NPM, such as feedback from superior, peers, consumers and subordinate. The multisource performance evaluation is among others proposed as an answer to the critique for the traditional method where only direct superior is involved in the evaluation of a subordinate, hence the demand for a new model. The multi-source model is chosen based on the assumption that those closest to the employees are the most competent ones to evaluate (Sahertian et. al., 2002). This is consistent with Neal (2004), who states that the multi-source evaluation method enable the people around the workplace to evaluate the performance of the employee, including supervisor, peers, subordinate and even suppliers and consumers. Further, Luthans (2006) states that feedback from multiple source can be used in the communication process with the manager concerning their strength and weaknesses. Many sources, including peers, manager, direct reports and sometimes even consumers, can be used here. The multi-source feedback approach uses many techniques and concepts from various fields. One of them is organizational development. This survey measures items such as satisfaction, management, supervisor, pay, work procedure, and organizational formal policy. The information from the survey is then fed back to the people who produced them in the first place with the intention to develop action plan for improving organization. Extensive explanation on the multi-source method which is developed in the New Public Management is used as the basis for the choice of method in this research. The multi-source method serves as the model for capturing and exposing the problems in the research and it is also proposed to serve as a model which should be used in stateowned companies such as PDAM.

The Concept of Public Service Public service includes all service activities which are carried out to provide public service with the aim to satisfy the public needs in accordance with the legislation. In this case, the public service is carried out by government agencies, consisting of: ministries/departments, non-departmental governmental agencies, secretariats for the highest and high state institutions, state-owned enterprises (BUMN), regional stateowned entities (BHMN), regional government enterprises (BUMD) and other governmental agencies. Public service, in accordance to the decree of the Minister of State Apparatus Empowerment (Menpan) Number 63/KEP/M.Pan/2003, is all kinds of public activities which are carried out by government agencies and central or regional stateowned enterprises (BUMN/BUMD) in the form of goods and services in order to 6

satisfy the needs of the people or in accordance with the legislation. Kepmenpan (decree of Menpan) Number 25 of the year 2004 concerning societal satisfaction index and Number 26 of the year 2004 concerning the transparency and accountability of public service are part of the government effort to improve the quality of its public service. The government has also issued a standard for minimum service which is contained in the Government Regulation (Peraturan Pemerintah, PP) of Indonesian Republic Number 65 of the year 2005 concerning the guidelines for formulation and application of minimum service standard and in the regulation issued by the Minister of Home Affairs (Menteri Dalam Negeri, Mendagri) of Indonesian Republic Number 79 of the year 2007 concerning the guidelines for the formulation of plan for the achievement of minimum service standard. The existence many regulations stated above should guarantee that the public service provided by many state agencies or enterprise are qualified and no longer doubted. The provision of public service should be as stated by Mahmudi (2002), that is the state apparatus should be responsible in providing the best service to the society in the effort to achieve social welfare. The people has the right to know that they have received the best service from the government since the people has contributed their wealth in the form of tax payment, dues and other collections.

The Culture of Public Service Bureaucracy Partini et. al. (2004) consider that the provision of public service by the bureaucracy is more rule-driven, and consistent with the practical and technical guidelines, rather than oriented towards the satisfaction of the users of the service. Such a bureaucratic mindset tends to regard that their best effort to provide service to the society will not improve their paychecks. Professionalism in the provision of public service is not the main objective of the present bureaucracy. They are willing to serve because they are instructed to do so by the heads of the agencies or because they are bound by their status as civil servants, not because of the demands of professionalism. Such a mindset has created a situation where the consideration towards the people who consume the service is very low. The argument from Partini et. al. above seems to forget the critique from Max Weber on modern bureaucracy, which is metaphorically portrayed as being caught in an iron cage. The rationality of modern bureaucracy is dictated by many rigid bureaucratic rules in conducting their task and functions to achieve organizational objectives. However, the argument of Partini et. al. is rather ambiguous since a rule-driven bureaucracy will not only try to achieve its objectives but also try to achieve professionalism in their conduct of duty. The idea from Dwiyanto (2000) concerning bureaucracy is deeper and more critical. He states that a rigid implementation and understanding of practical and technical guidelines has made the lower level bureaucracy unable to take initiatives in decision making. A hierarchical bureaucracy will create a fear on the apparatus of the bureaucracy towards their superiors. The leadership style in the bureaucracy tends to create a figure of an absolute ruler rather than a manager in the superiors. The fear of the bureaucrats to take initiative and innovation in the provision of service is strongly

related to the fear of making mistakes and being reprimanded by their superiors. Therefore, bureaucrats tend to act in accordance with the existing guidelines and avoid to take discretion despite the fact that it is sometimes necessary to do so. Bureaucracy seems to be still under the sway of dictatorial culture. Dwiyanto (2000) explains further that centralistic tendencies in the bureaucracy has trapped the bureaucracy in the development of a organizational culture which tends to vertical orientation than the horizontal orientation which is more amenable to public interest. Centralization in the bureaucracy has created pathological symptoms in the form of many abuses of power and authority in the bureaucracy. The bureaucratic pathology appears because the norms and values which guide the actions of the bureaucracy is more upward-oriented, that is to the political interest of power, rather than to the public. Many development policies of the government is controlled by the central government and this shows that the centralistic culture is strong in the bureaucracy. This condition has reduced the responsiveness of the bureaucracy to the values, norms, aspirations, needs and interest of the public.

The Gaps in Service Quality Service quality is one of the main issues in the provision of public service. The bad impression of the public service so far has been a lingering anathema in the institutions that provides public services in Indonesia. Public service is perceived as identical with lack of responsiveness, lack of fairness, and high cost, not to mention the ethical aspect of the service, where the personnel is not expressive and does not reflect a good spirit of service. For Parasuraman et. al. (1990), consumers expectation on the service quality is affected by the information that they obtain. Seen from the perspective of the consumer, information can be come from internal and external sources. The source of internal information is, for instance, past experience, observation and trial purchase. The external source of information comes from the environment surrounding the consumer, for instance the word-of-mouth information or from the information provided by marketers from promotions in various media. Consumer expectation of service, according Parasuraman et. al. (1990), can be classified into five dimensions of service which should be understood and applied by companies. This is certainly no easy task for a company, because in reality there are many complaints from the consumer that the service they received is inconsistent with the service they expected. This is called as the gap of service quality. The government agencies performance in public service is evaluated by measuring how far the gap between the service provided and the service expected by the public. This gap may exist in the form of: (1) gap between expected service and the management perception of consumer expectation, (2) gap between management perception of consumer orientation and the specification of service quality, (3) gap between the service quality specification and the service delivery, (4) gap between the external communication to consumer with the service delivery, and (5) gap between delivered service and perceived service.

RESEARCH METHOD This study investigates the phenomena related to the effort to improve the performance of service units of the PDAM in the municipality of Makassar. In order to gain a detailed and in-depth description and explanation on the phenomena related to the research question, a qualitative study was conducted. According to Moleong (2002), qualitative research method is a research procedure which produces descriptive data in the form of written or spoken words from the people and observation of their behavior. Qualitative method is developed to investigate limited case, and it is casuistic but in-depth and comprehensive, in the sense that it does not classify the phenomena conceptually into exclusive aspects known as variables (Yuliartha, 2007). In order to support the qualitative approach of this research, the quantitative approach is also used, that is in the form of numbers in the tables of frequency, which is formed to see the tendencies of the service performance improvement found in this research. This research was conducted in the municipality of Makassar, South Sulawesi province, and covered all service unit (unit pelayanan) of the PDAM (fresh water utility company) of the municipality of Makassar. The number of service unit in this PDAM is 12 units. In order to obtain detailed description of the phenomena related to the research question, this research is focused on four service units which were selected purposively. The focus of this research is based on the research problem formulation below. The performance of service units of PDAM in Makassar is evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively. In quantitative term, the performance of service units is measured by comparing the target achievement of service which has been planned by the PDAM of Makassar with result. In qualitative term, the performance is measured by comparing the delivered service with the service expectation from the consumers (public) on the service provided by the service units of PDAM Makassar. The gap between service performance with the expected service is comprised of: (1) gap between the consumer expectation with the perception of the service provided by the service units of PDAM Makassar, (2) gap between the standard of service and the performance of the service units of PDAM Makassar. The effort of performance improvement includes: (1) the effort to improve service performance internally, (2) the effort to improve service performance externally. Data was gathered from the following sources. The informants are source of main information and data who were chosen purposively. The informants from the PDAM Makassar are the chief director of PDAM, KTU and Consumer Relation, Head of Personnel, Heads of Service Units, Head of Service, field officers, staff of public relations, Head of Technical Planning, Head of Water Loss Solution, Head of Budgeting, Head of Sub-Unit for R&D, and Head of Sub-Unit of Human Resource Development. Information was also gathered from the Head of Production, Head of PKA, R&D Unit, and Head of PDE and Documentation unit. Sources from outside PDAM are head of A and B Commission of Regional Peoples Representative Council (DPRD) of the municipality of Makassar, partners, public relation staff of the Mayor of Makassar, and consumers. Places and events can also provide additional information and data, which were obtained through direct

observation on the events in the field which is related to the research question. There are also various kinds of documents which are gathered to complement this research to serve as illustration and description. According to Moleong, data analysis is carried out by sorting, sequencing, grouping, coding and categorizing. Analysis of qualitative data is also applied in this research by using the model of interactive data collection and data collection in accordance with Huberman and Miles in Bungin (2003). Such an analysis accommodates all kinds of data and responses which was gathered during data collection, so as to enrich the understanding. Data and words from the respondents are then analyzed by summarizing them to obtain findings which are more meaningful and easier to understand. Analysis for qualitative data, obtained from the open-ended interview and field observation, put an emphasis on the interpretive paradigm to understand the thoughts of the research subjects. Data is further analyzed by reducing the data. This is done by sorting them into categories and themes. Then data is presented in the form of sketches, synopsis, matrices or other forms in order to facilitate description and inferences.

RESULTS There are twelve service units in the PDAM of the municipality of Makassar, which were formed by the authority of the decree of the directors board (direksi) of PDAM. Each service unit is led by a unit head. Each unit head is assisted by three section chief (kepala urusan) that handle technical/distribution, consumer relation and administration and finance. To facilitate the operation, each section chief is assisted by several staff according to the needs of each section. Based on the organizational structure of the PDAM Makassar, each head of the service units is directly answerable to the chief director. The result of the research, based on interviews, critiques, comments and observation, shows that the performance of service units in PDAM Makassar has not achieved the target of fresh water service and the quality of the performance cannot fulfill the demand of the consumers and public in general, which has been determined in quantitative and qualitative term. Target achievement is determined by performance which is evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively in each service unit based on the performance of each sub-units within each service units, that technical service, customer relation and financial administration. The result shows that the failure to achieve the targets in quantitative terms is caused by the lack of materials purchased, inaccurate standard schedule for job completion and late payments. In terms of purchasing of materials, it is found that ordering material requires long chain of bureaucratic procedures and lengthy period of time. The procedure is based on the decree of the Minister of Regional Autonomy (Kepmen Negara Otonomi Daerah) Number 8 of the year 2000 concerning the accounting guidelines for fresh water utility companies. The proposal for purchasing material is submitted once a year and the proposal for repair can be submitted six months later, and the proposals 10

are submitted through the RKAP (rencana kerja dan anggaran, work and budget plan) which is sent to the central office of PDAM Makassar for authorization. This procedure requires a lengthy period of time since the proposal for material is submitted once a year and the proposal for repair is submitted six months later. The purchased material is often below the required amount, especially when the needs of material is increasing. Public service, as defined by the decree of the Minister of State Apparatus Empowerment (SK Men-Pan or Kepmenpan) Number 63/KEP/M.Pan/7/2003, includes all kinds of public service activities which are carried out by government agencies and central and regional state-owned enterprises (BUMN/BUMD) in the form of goods and services which are made available to fulfill the needs of the people and in accordance with the legislation. Kepmenpan Number 25 of the year 2004 concerning the satisfaction index of the society and Kepmenpan Number 26 of the year 2004 concerning transparent and accountable public service are part of the government effort to improve the quality of its public service. The government has also issued a minimum service standard in the form of Government Regulation (PP) Number 65 of the year 2005 concerning the guidelines for the formulation and application of minimum service standard and the decree of the Minister of Home Affairs (Mendagri) Number 79 of the year 2007 concerning the guidelines for the formulation of achievement plan for minimum service standard. The failure to achieve target for the account collection from the consumers is evident from the difference between the number of consumer account and the number of realized account. The number of consumer account in 2007 is 1,589,384 and the realization is only for 1,351,264 accounts, or equivalent to 85 percent. The uncollected account thus stands at 15 percent, amounting to Rp. 16,107,977,564.00. One of the reasons for the uncollected account is, according to one of the section chief (kepala urusan) in a service unit in the PDAM Makassar, is the habit of some consumers to pay their dues only after 2 or 3 months, citing lack of transportation as the reason. Some consumers will only pay their due when officer is sent to their home and some will require reprimand before paying their dues. The failure to achieve target based on quality is evident from the many complaints from the consumers concerning the technical service, consumer relation service and financial administration service. However, complaints on technical service is the most numerous so far. According to the statement from the head of bookkeeping department and customer relation of the PDAM Makassar, during 2007, the number of complaints by phone is 1,567. The problem that causes most of the complaints are leaking pipes and non-availability of water. The two problems is also the causes of the high level of water loss. In 2007, the level of water loss is 49.54 percent. This is due to, among others, leaks along the distribution pipes, many water measurement device which has exceeded their expiry date, neglect on the broken measurement device, and lack training in reading measurement device among the partners (RKAP PDAM Kota Makassar, 2007). The number of complaints received in all service units in PDAM Makassar in 2007 is quite numerous, 1,597 calls (see Table 5.8). When the number of complaints is related to the discussion above concerning the consumers on the services rendered to them, it

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is evident that there is a gap between the quality of the service unit performance as service provider and the expectation of their consumers as users of public service. The gap will be discussed further in terms of its causes and the procedures in the following discussion. Customer expectation on service quality can be influenced by the information they obtain, both from their direct experience and from the mass media. Customer expectation on service quality should be understood by the company and should be met as much as it can. This is not an easy task for the company, and in reality, there are many complaints from the customer because the delivered service is different from their expectation of the service. Such a condition creates a gap between the company performance and the customer expectation. The result of the interview, customer comments, and the result of the survey discussed above shows that the gap is caused by lack of responsiveness among the service units in their response and understanding of their customers. One of the cases that highlights this lack of responsiveness is the report from the consumers about their perception on several surveys. Other comments on the unmet expectations of the consumers on the services provided by PDAM service units also shows this lack of responsiveness. Other gaps were also found based on the result of the interview with several consumer and from the comment of one customers. This is related with the result of the survey and shows that the gap is caused by the inconsistencies of the PDAM service units in meeting the schedule. This gap occurs because in carrying out their tasks, the service units of PDAM has not applied a consistent schedule for service. The schedule which has been set and communicated through the publication of brochures is often at variance with the implementation in reality. Many effort has been expended by the service units of PDAM Makassar to improve their performance of public service, even long before 2007. However, the efforts have not managed to improve the public service in all service units, as evident from the findings discussed above. These efforts are formulated in the work plan and budget of the company, known as RKAP, which is made every year, such as the target of performance improvement which is made for 2007. For the service units of PDAM Makassar, effort has been made to improve the performance of the service, both internally in terms of improving the network, setting standard for service schedule, increasing capacity, and widening the area under service, and externally, by cooperating with the private sector in taking data of water usage from measurement device and reducing the rate of water loss, which is still very high. The efforts have not met with any success since there are still gaps between the service performance and customer expectation. The level of target achievement has not been realized in its entirety, as described above, especially for 2007. The effort to improve service performance by building infrastructures for water distribution has not achieved the optimum result. One of the cause is the lack of involvement of the target consumer in planning, construction, operation and maintenance. Consumers lack of involvement is related to the publics lack of concern to contribute to the continuity of service from the water infrastructure. Another cause of the lack of concern and knowledge of the public to the problems surrounding water provision is the old paradigm which sees water as a social goods

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which is available for free to all. This is one of the factors which complicate the management of PDAM Makassar in improving the service performance for the target consumers. On the other hand, the program for reducing water loss has not shown any significant improvement. This is among others caused by the leaks in the distribution pipes, added by the fact that many water measurement device is obsolete, repair is long overdue for many equipment, and the performance in reading water usage data by the partners is not optimum (RKAP, 2006). The rate of water theft is also quite high.

CONCLUSION Based on the result of the research and discussion on the performance of service units in PDAM in the municipality of Makassar above, the conclusion is reached that in conducting their duties for public service, the service units are facing many problems. These problems create difficulties in achieving the targets of the organization so that almost all of the targets is not achieved. The failure to achieve targets is caused by the quality of staff performance in carrying out organizational tasks, which is still low both quantitatively and qualitatively, especially in responding to the demands of service and complaints from the customers. The lack of responsiveness and lethargy in responding to the demands of public service from the consumers create a gap between the performance of service units and customers expectations, despite the fact that the policy for service performance improvement for all service units in PDAM Makassar has been formulated and stipulated in RKAP 2007 as part of the effort to improve the public service of the company. RECOMMENDATION Several ideas are put forward here as recommendations in improving public service in all service units of PDAM Makassar. 1. The performance of service units in the PDAM of the municipality of Makassar should be evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively so that quality can be improved. Such an evaluation requires a scheme of performance evaluation which is based on a clear paradigm which is oriented not only for solving the problems in the organization but also to taking into consideration and fulfilling the needs of the public. 2. In order to reduce or eliminate the gap between the service performance of the units of PDAM Makassar with the customers expectation, the expectation of the customers should be realized in the implementation of the service provision. 3. The effort to improve public service performance in the service units of PDAM Makassar should be accompanied by an intensive research to obtain accurate information on the quality of service expected by customers. The employees should also be empowered to improve their capability and sense of 13

ownership, so that their performance improves along with the involvement of the public.

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