'Emergency fund only for capital's ID card holders'<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Governor Sutiyoso on Monday insisted that the Rp
\n109.52 billion emergency fund is only for Jakarta ID card
\nholders.<\/p>\n
He ordered all the city's 265 subdistrict heads to strictly
\nfollow his guidelines in loaning the aid, locally known as the
\nsocial safety net fund, to needy Jakartans.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters, the governor said that the \"rule\" was
\nnot set by his administration but by the National Development
\nPlanning Board (Bappenas), which distributed the fund.<\/p>\n
\"Besides, if the aid money is loaned to those without ID
\ncards, who should be held accountable for the possible misuse of
\nthe fund?\" asked Sutiyoso.<\/p>\n
He added that the regulation that fund recipients should be
\nholders of the capital's ID card was fair enough.<\/p>\n
\"Please tell me what an exact mechanism for the fund
\ndistribution should be. I think there will always be weaknesses,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
According to Bambang Sungkono, head of the Jakarta chapter of
\nthe National Development Planning Board (Bappenas), loaning aid
\nmoney to the jobless or those living below the poverty line who
\nhad no ID cards would not achieve the mission of the program.<\/p>\n
The program, he said, is designed to teach the people,
\nincluding executives of the Village Resilience Boards (LKMD)
\nresponsible for distributing the money how to handle the
\ngovernment's money properly and how to make good use of it.<\/p>\n
\"If tomorrow a branch head loans aid money to a poor man
\nwithout an ID card who lives under the bridge or by the river or
\nrailway tracks and the man disappears within two days, who should
\nbe held responsible?\" Bambang asked.<\/p>\n
Needy residents who have no Jakarta ID cards could still
\nreceive money from the fund under the guarantee of, for example,
\na non-government organization, he added.<\/p>\n
Bappenas, he said, was also planning to suggest resilience
\nboard heads invite the poor without ID cards to take part in the
\nlocal labor-intensive projects in order to let them earn an
\nincome.<\/p>\n
\"They, for example, could help in cleaning up the roads and
\nrivers, as well as in the construction of roads and buildings,\"
\nBambang said.<\/p>\n
\"They then could be paid daily for their services with the aid
\nmoney.\"<\/p>\n
The emergency fund, which is aimed at helping Jakarta poor
\nresidents to cope with the economic crisis, has become a
\ncontroversial issue in the past few days due to the improper
\ndistribution of the money.<\/p>\n
To avoid bureaucracy and greater possibilities for the aid
\nmoney being siphoned off, the fund was handed by Bappenas
\nstraight down to the Village Resilience Boards or LKMDs of the
\ncapital's 265 subdistricts.<\/p>\n
But still some of the subdistrict heads have distributed the
\nfund to their relatives and staff.<\/p>\n
Asnawi, the Pegadungan subdistrict head in West Jakarta, told
\nThe Jakarta Post on Monday that he had \"mistakenly\" loaned four
\nof his staff Rp 500,000 each.<\/p>\n
\"But I have promised not to repeat such a mistake,\" he
\nadmitted.<\/p>\n
\"I have given my apologies a dozen times to the West Jakarta
\nmayor. I am so ashamed.\"<\/p>\n
When asked to comment on Asnawi's case, Bambang of Bappenas
\nsaid: \"If it proves to be true, the subdistrict head could either
\nbe removed from his position or be punished in accordance with
\nthe city's existing regulations.\" (ylt\/ind)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/emergency-fund-only-for-capitals-id-card-holders-1447893297",
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