Budget rises, services deteriorate<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Despite sharp budget increases, public services in the capital
\nhave continued to crumble over the past few years, an urban
\nplanning expert says.<\/p>\n
The chairman of the Center for Metropolitan Studies at
\nTarumanegara University in West Jakarta, Soerjono Herlambang,
\nsaid Governor Sutiyoso had clearly failed to improve public
\nservices in the capital.<\/p>\n
\"There is a very strong impression that Sutiyoso's
\nadministration has made no significant improvements, especially
\nin terms of day-to-day public services,\" Soerjono told The
\nJakarta Post over the weekend.<\/p>\n
He said that while the city enjoyed steady economic growth and
\nbigger budgets, residents continued to experience the same
\nproblems, including fires, poverty, evictions, flooding and
\nunemployment.<\/p>\n
Jakarta's budget hovered at Rp 3.38 trillion in 2000 before
\nskyrocketing to Rp 14 trillion in 2005.<\/p>\n
Residents, however, have seen little evidence of this in the
\nservices they receive. There were 772 fires in 2001, 1,083 in
\n2002, 888 in 2003 and 803 in 2004.<\/p>\n
The number of poor households has risen from 101,674 in 2001
\nto 111,957 in 2004.<\/p>\n
\"Unemployment stood at 14.7 percent of the total population in
\n2004, from 12.08 percent in 2000.<\/p>\n
\"Such a wide gap between positive indicators in the city and
\nthe level of services could only happen because the city
\nadministration is still infested with mismanagement, inefficiency
\nand corruption. And I think we can easily pinpoint those three
\nproblems in Sutiyoso's administration,\" Soerjono said.<\/p>\n
He highlighted the ubiquitous presence of gangs that
\ncontrolled areas across the capital, threatening residents with
\nseeming impunity.<\/p>\n
\"Before the 1980s, those gangs only had a strong grip on city
\ncenters like Senen, Tanah Abang, Glodok and Blok M. Now they have
\nspread to every corner of the city,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The latest incident was a series of deadly clashes between
\npolice officers and some 100 gang members who attacked the
\nmarketing office of the Taman Permata Buana housing complex in
\nKembangan, West Jakarta, last month.<\/p>\n
A survey by non-governmental organization Indonesian Institute
\nfor Civil Society (INCIS) earlier this year found that 22.2
\npercent of 480 respondents doubted Sutiyoso's ability to
\neradicate red tape in the bureaucracy.<\/p>\n
\"Most of the respondents complained about rampant corruption,
\nespecially at the subdistrict level, where officials often ask
\nfor 'cigarette money' and 'transportation fees' for services they
\ngive to people,\" said INCIS executive director Hasan Sadeli.<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso, in a speech to civil servants on June 22, called on
\nhis subordinates to \"work much harder and to be more
\nprofessional\".<\/p>\n
\"In response to demands by residents that the administration
\neradicate corruption, collusion and nepotism, we will intensify
\nour monitoring and impose sterner sanctions against any civil
\nservants implicated in KKN,\" he said, using the local acronym for
\ncorruption, collusion and nepotism.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/budget-rises-services-deteriorate-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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