Hold Sutiyoso accountable<\/p>\n
Members of the Jakarta Legislative Council should use the
\ndemocratic power vested in them to scrutinize heavily the
\nperformance of Governor Sutiyoso.<\/p>\n
They have that opportunity now as they are assessing his
\nspeech -- in which he gave an account of his leadership for the
\nyear 2001 -- before the Council last week.<\/p>\n
If they were to find that Sutiyoso had not lived up to his
\njob, they should move to reject the speech, and initiate the
\nprocess of removing him from office.<\/p>\n
This exercise is not necessarily academic, even though he is
\nending his governorship in October.<\/p>\n
The incumbent has made it clear that he plans to run for a
\nsecond five-year term. The fact that this is an election year,
\nand that he is seeking re-election, is all the more reason for
\nhonorary council members to give Sutiyoso a run for his money.<\/p>\n
In the two years since this requirement for annual reporting
\nto the Council began, the Governor has been let off far too
\neasily each time.<\/p>\n
An outright approval by the Council would give him an
\nadditional edge in the governorship race over the other
\ncandidates. He would turn it into his advantage.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, a rejection, or an approval with some
\nreservations, could jeopardize or even kill his chances
\naltogether.<\/p>\n
The Governor himself has turned -- exploited is a better term
\n-- the forum of his speech into a platform from which to launch
\nhis reelection campaign. While he highlighted his achievements,
\nmeager as they are, in his speech, he either concealed his gross
\nshortcomings, of which there are many, or ducked the major
\nproblems that have beset his administration.<\/p>\n
This much is clear to anyone with discerning eyes. One does
\nnot need to sit in the Council to see that his speech -- which
\nsupposedly gives an overview of the state of affairs of our
\nJakarta -- is full of holes and leaves many unanswered questions.<\/p>\n
The Council members should avoid falling into the trap of
\nassessing the Governor's performance solely on the basis of his
\nspeech. That would only allow him to dictate the agenda and the
\nscope of their deliberation.<\/p>\n
Instead, they should take a good look at some of the things
\nthat were left unsaid -- but are still important in the affairs
\nof this city.<\/p>\n
Essentially, as important as the speech may have been in
\nassessing the performance of a Governor, it cannot be the only
\nyardstick.<\/p>\n
A casual glance at how our lives in general in Jakarta have
\ndeteriorated on almost every front is the strongest indicator
\nthat the administration is not functioning the way it should be.<\/p>\n
Part of the problem, a bigger part, is Sutiyoso's leadership.<\/p>\n
His only claim to success last year, and something that he
\ndwelled on at length in his speech, was that the economy
\nimproved, growing slightly above the national average.<\/p>\n
Even here, however, there are reasons to be skeptical, because
\nstatistical figures never tell the whole story. Jakarta's
\neconomic growth in 2001, like that of the national economy,
\nperformed worse than in 2000.<\/p>\n
But the economy was only a small part of the story of Jakarta.<\/p>\n
When it comes to the affairs of the Administration, there were
\nmany problems that were constantly highlighted by the media,
\nproblems that affected the quality of lives of its citizens.<\/p>\n
They include worsening traffic congestion, soaring crime
\nrates, increasing pollution, and the perennial problems of
\ncorruption within the administration, poor public services, and
\neviction of squatters.<\/p>\n
Even in the problems the that were already anticipated, the
\nadministration often failed to act, suggesting incompetence and
\npoor leadership.<\/p>\n
This was most visible in the way the administration handled
\nthe problems of garbage collection and floods. These problems
\nwere predicted long before they happened, but when they did take
\nplace, the administration appeared completely helpless.<\/p>\n
Granted, the floods occurred this year (and hence beyond the
\nscope of the Governor's report of accountability which only
\ncovers 2001), but since this is an election year, Sutiyoso should
\nbe held accountable for this major disaster that struck our city.<\/p>\n
Scrutinizing Sutiyoso's performance is a chance for the
\nJakarta Legislative Council to make a real difference in the
\nlives of the people who elected them in 1999.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/hold-sutiyoso-accountable-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}