Focus on the poor<\/p>\n
The focus of the World Bank Group's Country Assistance
\nStrategy (CAS) for Indonesia for the 2004 to 2007 period will be,
\nby and large, very similar to that of the 2001 to 2003 CAS --
\nthat was, to reduce poverty through improving the investment
\nclimate, service delivery and governance.<\/p>\n
This means that, apart from the regaining of macroeconomic and
\npolitical stability, there have not been any other significant
\nachievements made by the country over the past six years of its
\neconomic debacle.<\/p>\n
In fact, judging by the 2001 to 2003 CAS targets, the country
\nhas largely been hovering at base-case performance over the past
\nthree years, with World Bank loan disbursements averaging only
\naround US$400 million a year.<\/p>\n
The incidence of absolute poverty did decrease from 27 percent
\nof the total population in 1999, to 16 percent today (34
\nmillion). However, the overall condition of the country remains
\nfragile as an estimated 110 million people still live on the
\nverge of poverty with a daily expenditure of less than US$2. A
\nslight decline in economic performance could plunge this large
\nnumber of people into absolute poverty.<\/p>\n
It is no wonder the CAS foresees that Indonesia will remain in
\na core World Bank lending program (base case) of between $450-850
\nmillion, much lower than the pre-1997 crisis high-case lending of
\nup to $1.4 billion a year.<\/p>\n
As poverty reduction is the overarching goal of the World
\nBank, a majority of the available funds will be allocated to the
\nsupport of poverty-oriented projects at local and community
\nlevels.<\/p>\n
This doesn't, however, mean simply pouring money into the
\ncommunities of the rural or urban poor. The availability of loan
\nfunds will depend on predetermined performance benchmarks in
\ntransparency, accountability, efficiency and pro-poor development
\napproaches.<\/p>\n
The World Bank, sharply criticized for its strong support of
\nthe corruption-infested Soeharto regime for more than three
\ndecades, set good governance as one of the three top-priority
\nprograms within its 2004 to 2007 CAS. This basically made a lot
\nof sense, because quality governance will influence the other two
\ntop-priority programs, improving the climate for high-quality
\ninvestment and making service delivery responsive to the needs of
\nthe poor.<\/p>\n
To put it briefly, combating corruption is the core issue of
\ngovernance because, as the World Bank has often pointed out,
\ncorruption poses a particular problem for Indonesia. Thus, the
\nbank aims to integrate governance through all its programs; from
\nhow projects are selected and designed, through to how they are
\nimplemented and monitored.<\/p>\n
The World Bank has rightly concluded that poverty alleviation
\nis hindered by inadequate employment opportunities and the lack
\nof quality service delivery to the poor.<\/p>\n
The persistently high unemployment rate has resulted from the
\nlow rate of new investment, which was in turn caused by bad
\ngovernance. But good governance -- meaning effective law
\nenforcement, good financial management and a good accountability
\nsystem -- will not only improve the delivery of basic services to
\nthe people but also stimulate new investment.<\/p>\n
The new CAS, therefore, will address the key areas most
\nessential in attracting investment: stronger macroeconomic
\nstability and financial sector, highly competitive business
\nsector and adequate infrastructure.<\/p>\n
The new CAS, like the 2001 to 2003 one, also promises a high-
\ncase lending program of up to $1.4 billion a year, contingent
\nupon Indonesia's exceedingly high performance in implementing key
\nreform areas. Yet it projects a base-case scenario ( 4-5 percent)
\nfor the country's economic growth between 2004 and 2007.<\/p>\n
It is encouraging to note that the new CAS was drawn after
\ngathering inputs through intensive consultations with more than
\n500 representatives from civil society organizations, in various
\nprovinces and central and local governments.<\/p>\n
But the World Bank is also fully aware of the high risks of
\nmeeting even the base-case scenario of the CAS objectives. It
\nfully realizes that the highest risk to the achievement of the
\nCAS objectives is that the political will to address the issues
\nof governance will not be forthcoming, given the utterly poor
\nrecords in the anti-corruption campaign so far, and especially in
\nview of the electoral period next year.<\/p>\n
_________<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/focus-on-the-poor-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }