'Only a few people enjoy
\nbenefit of foreign debt'<\/p>\n
The country's foreign debt has reached close to US$77 billion but
\nin the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI) forum being held
\nuntil Thursday, more loans are being sought from donors. The
\nJakarta Post asked people for their impressions on how the
\ngovernment was spending the money.<\/p>\n
Albert, 25, is an activist with the Indonesian Environmental
\nForum (Walhi). He is single and lives in Mampang, South Jakarta:<\/p>\n
The government should stop its bad habit of continuously
\nasking for new loans from foreign countries. It must be stopped
\nbefore its too late. The debt is already huge. Indonesia is a
\nrich country and its natural resources alone could provide most
\npeople with a decent livelihood.<\/p>\n
To make things worse, the government does not improve the
\npeople's welfare with the money. It is misused by a great number
\nof state officials. As a result, widespread poverty is not
\nalleviated while the officials get richer.<\/p>\n
Alfian, 32, a resident of Kapuk Muara. His house burned down
\nlast Sunday:<\/p>\n
We are born already burdened with the country's foreign debt.
\nSometimes the debt is used for development and the public enjoys
\nthe benefit of projects, such as the development of roads.<\/p>\n
However, I still feel that only a few of people really gain
\nfrom the resources. As for the poor, we get almost nothing. Even
\nthe development of roads is meaningless to us as we don't own any
\nvehicles.<\/p>\n
To be honest, I don't feel like I benefit from the loans at
\nall.<\/p>\n
Terry, 34, works at a non-governmental organization in Central
\nJakarta. She lives with her husband and newborn son in South
\nJakarta:<\/p>\n
The government projects using foreign loans remain unclear.
\nEveryone is at a loss about the distribution and control of the
\nfunds. Moreover, there are conditions like corruption eradication
\nthat come with the money, which makes us even more dependent on,
\nand accountable to, the donor countries.<\/p>\n
Many commentators agree that the CGI is better than IMF, but I
\nthink at the end of the day, they are essentially the same.<\/p>\n
The government only seems to focus on physical development
\nsuch as roads, malls and so on, all of which eventually boost
\nconsumerism.<\/p>\n
--The Jakarta Post<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/only-a-few-people-enjoy-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }