Managing Jakarta<\/p>\n
It has been a long time since the former state minister of the
\nenvironment, Emil Salim, has publicly discussed subjects that
\ninterest us all. So it is all the more gratifying to find that,
\nat a monthly lecture at Jakarta's City Hall, he showed that he
\nhad lost none of his acute understanding of the problems
\nconfronting us in these critical times.<\/p>\n
Emil Salim told the City Hall employees at the meeting that
\nJakarta and the surrounding areas of Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi
\nneed one governor with ministerial-level authority to face future
\nchallenges. Only then would the city be able to properly manage
\nthe problems facing it. In the years to come, ex-minister Salim
\nsaid, Jakarta will play an increasing role as an international
\ngrowth center in one of the world's most dynamic regions:
\nSoutheast Asia.<\/p>\n
Of course we all know the magnitude of the problems which
\nJakarta must confront now and in the future. But in almost two
\ndecades, Jakarta will become one of the world's \"megacities\" with
\nan estimated population of more than 21 million. If things do not
\nchange by the 21st century, ex-minister Salim warned, we can
\nexpect more complications in one of the world's 10 megacities.<\/p>\n
Of all the areas of Indonesia, Jakarta, according to Emil
\nSalim, is the most important in terms of higher-level management.
\nThe city's population growth, which averages 4 percent a year, is
\nhigher than the national average. The city's demographic makeup
\nis the worst in the country in terms of distribution of wealth,
\nwhich leads to an ever increasing crime rate and other social
\nproblems, of which the July 27th riots could be an example.<\/p>\n
Jakarta's growing traffic congestion needs no further comment
\nexcept that, as ex-minister Salim said, this and other
\nshortcomings are always blamed on the city administration \"while
\nthe source of the problems actually comes from higher
\nauthorities\". It has, for example, been a longstanding complaint
\nof the city authorities that little can be done to improve the
\ncity's public bus system as long as the final authority over key
\nelements lies elsewhere. The PPD bus company, which is controlled
\nby the Ministry of Transportation, is an example.<\/p>\n
Other examples easily come to mind. To maintain an adequate
\nstandard of livability, for example, Jakarta needs ample supplies
\nof clean water. The city's water catchment areas, however, lie
\noutside city boundaries, in the province of West Java, where they
\nare threatened by the unregulated construction of villas and
\nhousing estates. Many steps have been announced, including a
\npresidential instruction, to control this haphazard development.
\nThere have been few results.<\/p>\n
Clearly, something must be done to reduce, if not eliminate,
\nthese problems if Jakarta is to function properly as the national
\ncapital of Southeast Asia's largest and most populous country --
\nnot to mention to fulfill its role as an increasingly important
\nregional growth center. We do not know what difficulties will
\nstop ex-minister Salim's suggestion becoming a reality. But the
\nessence of his proposition is clear: It is crucial that Jakarta
\nbe placed under a level of management that can make integrated
\nsolutions to its most pressing problems. This, surely, is a
\nproposition which most of us agree with. We hope the necessary
\nsteps in that direction can be made before the complications
\nbecome too great to be unraveled.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/managing-jakarta-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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