Intergovernmental fiscal relations bill under fire<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Economists Association (ISEI)
\nurged on Monday the House of Representatives to cancel debates on
\nthe intergovernmental fiscal relations and local government
\nbills, contending the draft legislation were so flawed they would
\ncontribute nothing to the improvement of regional autonomy.<\/p>\n
An ISEI delegation, headed by Irzan Tanjung, argued at a
\nmeeting with the House's special committee on the two bills that
\nthe draft legislation still vested most administrative power on
\nthe central government in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"If the bills, in their present form and with their present
\nstipulations, were forcefully enacted by the April 24 deadline
\nset by the government, they would not be effective in enforcing
\nan adequate decentralization of government,\" Tanjung said.<\/p>\n
He said the two bills should supplement each other because
\npower sharing without revenue sharing would be meaningless.<\/p>\n
According to Tanjung, the government and the House should
\nfirst complete the legislation on local government and only then
\nformulate the bill on intergovernmental fiscal relations
\naccording to the financial needs of local administrations.<\/p>\n
\"We can not establish a good financial-sharing mechanism if
\nthe power sharing is still not clear.\"<\/p>\n
\"Without a clear definition of the functions of both the
\ncentral and local governments, there will be overlap and
\nconfusion in the management of financial resources between the
\ncentral and local governments,\" Tanjung said.<\/p>\n
The House currently is deliberating the two related bills,
\nwhich the government hastily prepared in response to the rising
\ndisillusionment of local administrations over what they see as an
\nunfair distribution of revenue derived from local natural
\nresources.<\/p>\n
He added that the time allotted for deliberation on the two
\nbill also was too short to allow for a meaningful and critical
\nanalysis of such important legislation.<\/p>\n
\"The two bills stipulate only general principles and simply
\nempower the central government to determine the technical details
\nthrough regulations or presidential decrees.\"<\/p>\n
\"It creates a back door for the central government to issue
\nregulations which will further entrench its power over local
\nadministrations,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Sri Mulyani Indrawati, a member of the ISEI delegation,
\nexpressed concern that the absence of a clearly stipulated
\nrevenue-sharing formula in the bills would again give the central
\ngovernment a blank check to do whatever it wished with revenue
\nderived from local natural resources.<\/p>\n
\"We are worried that if this formula is not stated outright in
\nthe legislation and left to the central government to determine
\nthrough regulations, the present gross injustices will remain,\"
\nshe said.<\/p>\n
She said several areas covered by the two bills, including
\nrevenue sharing, were politically sensitive issues which could
\nlead to the country's disintegration if they were not properly
\naddressed.<\/p>\n
Sri said the hasty deliberation of the two bills was a token
\ngesture from the government to address local administrations'
\ndemands for greater autonomy and to win political favor.<\/p>\n
\"We are afraid the two bills, seemingly designed merely to
\nreduce pressures from disappointed provinces, will create new
\nproblems which will be more difficult to be addressed,\" Sri said.<\/p>\n
Protests and separatist calls have been seen in several
\nnatural resources-rich provinces, including Aceh, Riau and Irian
\nJaya, over the perceived unfair distribution of natural
\nresources-derived revenue by the central government. Calls for
\nindependence in some provinces have been fueled by the issue.<\/p>\n
The two bills were designed to create a more equitable
\ndistribution of income and power between the central government
\nand provincial administrations. Moves which are hoped will
\ndissipate separatist pressures.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, legislator Alfian Darmawan admitted the two bills
\nfailed to address several crucial issues, including revenue
\nsharing, the demand for transparency in the management of local
\nnatural resources and local administrations' accountability in
\nmanaging financial resources.<\/p>\n
\"We realize the government still is not ready to address the
\ndemands for decentralization, both in political and economic
\nissues,\" he said. (gis)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/intergovernmental-fiscal-relations-bill-under-fire-1447893297",
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