Confusion undermining emergency funds program<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Executives of Village Resilience Boards (LKMD)
\nhave been finding it hard to cope with a sudden influx of
\ncommunity development funds worth more than Rp 109 billion due to
\na lack of guidance.<\/p>\n
Executives contacted by The Jakarta Post on Wednesday and
\nThursday said that boards and local communities did not know what
\nthey were expected to do with the money.<\/p>\n
"My community think the funds should be used for physical
\nprojects rather than disbursed in the form of credits to small
\nscale businesspeople," said Nazar Amir, the head of the LKMD in
\nEast Jakarta's Bidara Cina subdistrict.<\/p>\n
He said that his board would use 60 percent of the funds for
\nsmall projects like repairing roads and drainage channels and
\nrenovating public buildings and houses of worship, while the
\nother 40 percent would be used to help small-scale
\nbusinesspeople.<\/p>\n
"About 4,000 people, including the unemployed and those living
\nunder the poverty line, will be employed on the projects," said
\nNazar, who has a budget of Rp 1.06 billion to fund the work.<\/p>\n
The head of the city development planning board Bambang
\nSungkono said recently that 265 resilience boards throughout the
\ncity would be given funds to help the needy by Friday at the
\nlatest.<\/p>\n
Bambang said the money was being disbursed under the auspices
\nof the PDMDKE, a program designed to help people cope with the
\nworst impacts of the economic crisis.<\/p>\n
He said the scheme was funded by the National Development
\nPlanning Board (Bappenas) and the World Bank, however Andrea
\nSilverman, who coordinates the World Bank's social development
\nactivities, denied that this was the case.<\/p>\n
"I should clarify that the scheme was not financed by the
\nWorld Bank," she said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Around Rp 106.7 billion of Rp 109.4 billion available under
\nthe scheme is to be channeled directly to resilience boards
\nthrough the state Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI). The remaining Rp
\n2.7 billion has been earmarked for management and operating
\ncosts.<\/p>\n
Max H. Pohan, a Bappenas official responsible for overseeing
\ndevelopment initiatives on the islands of Sumatra, Java and Bali,
\nsaid on Thursday that he hoped that government and city officials
\nwould not interfere with the implementation of the scheme.<\/p>\n
"Bappenas has not issued a directive on how the funds should
\nbe used...we believe that the public know what they need and we
\nshould respect their decisions," he said.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged that funds from the scheme could be misused,
\nbut added: "We have no authority over how the funds are used, so
\nwe hope the city administration takes responsibility for ensuring
\nthat money is not embezzled or misused.<\/p>\n
He said the first funds were released under the scheme in
\nNovember and expressed hope that they would be put to good use
\ngiven the urgency of the situation facing the country's poor.<\/p>\n
However, many resilience boards claim they have yet to receive
\nany money.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile on Wednesday, about 50 people staged a demonstration
\nin front of the City Hall to demand greater transparency in the
\nuse of the money.<\/p>\n
Wardah Hafidz, the head of the Urban Poor Consortium who led
\nthe protest, said that clear information and a sensible mechanism
\nto distribute the funds would prevent any misuse.<\/p>\n
"We urge non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community
\ngroups to get involved in explaining the project to the public,"
\nWardah told the city development planning board during a meeting.<\/p>\n
Representatives of residents in seven subdistricts of East and
\nWest Jakarta were also present at the meeting.<\/p>\n
Tirsyan, who lives in Jelambar Baru, West Jakarta, said that
\nhis subdistrict head had asked him to submit a proposal for how
\nto use Rp 5 million.<\/p>\n
"I do not know where the money is going to come from. I was
\ntold about the project by the PKK women's group," he said.<\/p>\n
Tirsyan's neighbor Kurnia said that he had been told that
\nresidents were to receive loans from the government, adding that
\nnobody knew where the loans were coming from or how they were to
\nbe repaid.<\/p>\n
"The subdistrict head told us that the government had some
\nmoney to loan to the people. But we don't know how much, or where
\nit's coming from, or how it's to be disbursed," she said.<\/p>\n
Amir from Kampung Rawa Baru in West Jakarta said that he had
\nnever heard of the project.<\/p>\n
"Local officials have not said a word about anything like
\nthat," he said. (ind\/ivy)<\/p>",
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