Assistance funds must go to those who are entitled<\/p>\n
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Some women in the neighborhood are arranging tables and chairs
\non the veranda of a small mosque here. They are also preparing
\nsnacks and tea for refreshments. It is 8:45 a.m. Most of the
\nmothers in the neighborhood will start arriving shortly to have
\ntheir babies examined by doctors.<\/p>\n
Regular medical examinations are provided for infants in the
\nRW 8 neighborhood, Pancoran Mas, Depok. Their heights and weights
\nare checked to find out if they are developing normally.<\/p>\n
Unlike many neighborhoods in the municipality, this particular
\nneighborhood does not have a posyandu (local integrated health
\ncenter for low-income people), where medical examinations for
\ninfants are normally conducted. They thus use the mosque's
\nveranda for the purpose.<\/p>\n
\"We -- the mothers of the neighborhood -- can measure the height
\nand weight of the infants ourselves. We need the physicians' help
\nin case there are infants in need of immunization,\" said Ibu
\nSubandi, the wife of the former local neighborhood chief.<\/p>\n
She said, however, that the physicians often failed to turn up
\nand rarely gave prior notice.<\/p>\n
Each woman whose baby is examined is asked to pay between Rp
\n1,000 to Rp 3,000 in fees for the maintenance of the scales and
\nother equipment.<\/p>\n
Besides, all the families in the neighborhood, who are mostly
\npoor, are required to pay a monthly fee to purchase refreshments
\nfor the doctor, the organizing committee members, and the
\ninfants.<\/p>\n
Each of the infants receives a snack in the form of a cup of
\njelly, boiled egg or porridge.<\/p>\n
According to Ibu Subandi, the neighborhood used to receive
\nfinancial assistance from the subdistrict for these sort of
\nthings, but they hadn't received such subventions for more than a
\nyear. Now, they had to finance the program by themselves.<\/p>\n
Following the government's promise to help the poor using the
\nmoney saved from fuel subsidy spending following the increase in
\nfuel prices, the people of the neighborhood hope they will not
\nhave to dip into their small incomes to pay for the program in
\nfuture. However, there is no certainty that they will get as much
\nas they need.<\/p>\n
A study by the Tim Indonesia Bangkit research group reveals
\nthat the low-income assistance program using \"fuel compensation
\nfunds\" conducted in 2001-2003 only reached 30 percent of the
\ntargeted poor people.<\/p>\n
Citing a survey by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) in
\n2004, the group said that only 26.53 percent of poor people
\nreceived medical assistance, while 33.34 percent of the children
\nfrom poor families received assistance with their education.
\nFurthermore, only 25.93 percent of poor people received
\nsubsidized rice, and 9.89 percent of them were able to obtain
\nsoft loans.<\/p>\n
The government has vowed to improve the distribution of the
\nassistance funds, which will amount to Rp 17.9 trillion this
\nyear. Of the funds, Rp 5.6 trillion will be allocated on the
\nprovision of educational assistance to 9.6 million elementary,
\njunior high, and senior high school students from poor families.<\/p>\n
Another Rp 5.4 trillion will be spent on providing subsidized
\nrice to 8.6 million poor families.<\/p>\n
In addition, Rp 2.1 trillion will be spent on improving health
\nservices for 36.1 million poor people, and the provision of free
\nmedical treatment at either community health centers (puskesmas)
\nor public hospitals.<\/p>\n
State Minister for National Development Planning\/National
\nDevelopment Planning Board Chairwoman Sri Mulyani Indrawati has
\nacknowledged that it is difficult for the government to channel
\nthe money to those entitled as it does not know exactly which
\nfamilies deserve help. The central government could only estimate
\nthe amount of money needed by each province.<\/p>\n
She said that the central government would have to rely on
\nregents, mayors and governors to select the families that
\ndeserved help. In turn, the regents, mayors and governors would
\nhave to rely on district, village and neighborhood heads to make
\nthe selection.<\/p>\n
She said the central government was setting up a monitoring
\nteam to ensure that the money went to those who were entitled,
\nadding that every citizen and non-governmental organizations
\nwould be allowed to participate in monitoring.<\/p>\n
However, Urban Poor Consortium coordinator Wardah Hafiz stated
\nthat her organization would refuse the invitation to participate
\nin monitoring.<\/p>\n
She emphasized that the government only needed to ensure
\ntransparency in the distribution of the assistance funds.<\/p>\n
Wardah, who has received the prestigious Yap Thiam Hien human
\nright award, added that there must be clarity as to who would get
\nwhat.<\/p>\n
\"All we need is transparency. If the process is transparent,
\nwe will not need monitoring that will only cost more money,\" she
\ntold The Jakarta Post.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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