Govt program for laid off workers hailed<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Observers have applauded the government's
\nprogram aimed at helping laid off workers and the poor, but
\nwarned that strong control mechanisms were needed to ensure
\nnothing goes to waste.<\/p>\n
Sociologists Paulus Wilutomo and Wardah Hafidz said the idea
\nof helping people affected by the crisis was good but needed
\ncareful planning and explicit control mechanisms.<\/p>\n
\"Donations and financial assistance must be carefully
\ndesigned. Otherwise, there could be misappropriation and the aid
\ncould go to the wrong people,\" Paulus told The Jakarta Post
\nSaturday.<\/p>\n
\"The program's management must be open to the public,
\nespecially when it deals with donors' money,\" Wardah separately
\ntold the Post.<\/p>\n
Both Paulus and Wardah were responding to an announcement by
\nthe minister of social services, Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, who
\nsaid Friday that the government was working on a plan to develop
\nboth immediate and long-term programs to deal with the social
\nimpact of the monetary crisis.<\/p>\n
Hardiyanti said two large private conglomerates had donated Rp
\n3 billion (US$294,000) each to the program.<\/p>\n
She said the program would range from distributing free meals
\nto laid off workers to finding new jobs for those who have become
\nunemployed as a result of the economic slump.<\/p>\n
Hardiyanti, who is President Soeharto's eldest daughter, said
\nthe program would also include financial assistance for small
\nWarung Tegal (roadside) food stalls, so people would always be
\nable to buy cheap meals from such places.<\/p>\n
Paulus argued that the program would only be effective if the
\nfree meals for the poor and the financial assistance for small-
\nscale businesses directly reached the parties in need.<\/p>\n
\"The government should provide coupons to be used by the poor
\nto get the meals from appointed food stalls and kiosks,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He, however, added that the coupons should only be given to
\npeople who were really poor and needed the government's help.<\/p>\n
\"I suggest the government establish committees in neighborhood
\nunits, involving influential people in the neighborhood, to
\nselect the appropriate people,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In the long run, Paulus said, the government should distribute
\nfinancial assistance to the small-scale informal sector, which
\nwould absorb a large number of manpower.<\/p>\n
\"Bank soft loans should not merely be given to a limited
\nnumber of conglomerates anymore, but to a large variety of
\ninformal sector businesses,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Wardah said the government's financial assistance program
\nshould not be a top-down policy as it could fail to reach the
\npeople who really need the assistance.<\/p>\n
\"The government should include activists of non-governmental
\norganizations and religious groups, as well as social workers,\"
\nshe said, \"Because they know better than the government who the
\neligible recipients are.\"<\/p>\n
Wardah, who is active in various social care programs in the
\ncity, said non-governmental organizations knew about such
\nprograms because they had started similar programs on a smaller
\nscale.<\/p>\n
She added that the involvement of non-governmental
\norganizations would also help control the program's financial
\nmanagement.<\/p>\n
\"Without a proper control mechanism, the project would only
\nact as a charity program and provide legitimacy to the
\ngovernment's claim that it has jobs to do and cares for the poor
\nand for laid off workers,\" she said. (imn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-program-for-laid-off-workers-hailed-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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