CRP approves community development<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Community Recovery Program (CRP), a non-
\ngovernmental organization entrusted with the distribution of a
\nsafety net fund provided by foreign donors, has approved 136
\ncommunity development projects worth Rp 15 billion in 19
\nprovinces, chairman Emil Salim said on Monday.<\/p>\n
\"Out of the 136 projects run by non-government organizations,
\n110 of the projects have met requirements ... while the remaining
\n26 projects have to wait for further appraisals,\" Emil said.<\/p>\n
The projects were approved between September and December last
\nyear, he said in a media briefing on CRP's first quarter report.<\/p>\n
CRP was established by a number of non-governmental
\norganizations and community organizations to help provide the
\nneediest citizens with food, basic social services and job
\nopportunities.<\/p>\n
Among the donors to the program are the United Nations
\nDevelopment Program, the British Department for International
\nDevelopment and the New Zealand government.<\/p>\n
The projects funded by the program have shown \"amazing\"
\nachievements, Emil said, adding that the projects indicated that
\nthe program was able to help \"empower\" the needy \"to lift
\nthemselves out of the crisis\".<\/p>\n
He cited a job creation project in Yogyakarta, in which at
\nleast 120 people were producing fertilizer from household waste
\nthrough the assistance of a some Rp 148 million loan.<\/p>\n
The produced fertilizer is sold to residential estates and
\nfarmers, enabling the project to develop into a profitable,
\nsmall-scale business, Emil, a former state minister of
\nenvironment, said.<\/p>\n
CRP executive director Sri Pamoedjo Rahardjo noted that as of
\nFebruary, Rp 4.5 billion from the total allocated budget of Rp 15
\nbillion had been distributed.<\/p>\n
CRP received 3,515 project proposals this year. The program
\nrequires an estimated US$18 million to run all of the projects.<\/p>\n
\"We hope to realize at least half of the proposals ... we've
\njust been informed that the Netherlands will give us a grant of
\n$2.5 million,\" Sri said, adding that CRP had established a
\nnetwork of 4,977 organizations and community groups.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a preliminary report from a fact-finding team of
\nSoutheast Asian experts observing food security here said that
\n\"food aid was further enriching corruption\".<\/p>\n
The team, chaired by researcher Walden Bello, is comprised of
\nmembers of the Southeast Asian Food Security and Fair Trade
\nCouncil.<\/p>\n
Ten members of the team toured West Java, Yogyakarta, Solo,
\nPacitan, Rembang in Central Java, East Kalimantan, East Nusa
\nTenggara and East Timor from Jan. 25 to Feb. 4.<\/p>\n
\"Food aid is sold freely or siphoned off, making local elites
\neven richer,\" the report said. There were also instances where
\nfood aid \"simply disappeared\", according to the report.<\/p>\n
The team reported that in East Kalimantan, the intended
\nmonthly 50 kilograms of food aid per family was not reaching the
\nneedy.<\/p>\n
Aid from a private international organization, Care
\nInternational, \"had 'leaked' before it reached the needy
\nfamilies\", who often received less than 50 kgs, Riza V. Tjahjadi,
\nthe coordinator of Pesticide Action Network Indonesia, told The
\nJakarta Post on Monday. The organization requested the fact-
\nfinding mission.<\/p>\n
Members of the team also met with officials, including
\nMinister of Food and Horticulture A.M. Saefuddin, who welcomed
\nthe mission, Riza said.<\/p>\n
The team's report also quoted executives from the World Food
\nProgram (WFP) as telling the team that food aid was \"a form of
\nsocial pacification\".<\/p>\n
The report said that the WFP admitted to overestimating
\nIndonesia's need when it imported about 3.4 million tons of rice,
\nbut since the food aid had already been sent to the country the
\naid was redirected to jobless urban people. The government \"saw
\nthis as the best opportunity to keep stomachs full\" ahead of the
\nJune election, according to the report.<\/p>\n
The report also said that rather than food aid, the greater
\nneed was for jobs.<\/p>\n
The report warned of the \"self-serving interests\" of donors
\nwho provided food aid, adding to the team's argument that jobs
\nfor the hungry were more vital than food aid.<\/p>\n
The team's preliminary findings were conveyed last week in
\nKuala Lumpur during a conference on food security. A complete
\nreport is expected in April, Riza said. (anr\/edt)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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