Social safety net seen 'as charity, burden'<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Many recipients of the social safety net funds
\nsee the aid program as charity, which is creating a new sense of
\ndependency, a social researcher said.<\/p>\n
Henny Warsilah of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI)
\nsaid the funds could also pose another problem for recipients, as
\nothers not receiving the funds may become jealous, Antara
\nreported Thursday from a seminar on the social safety net funds.<\/p>\n
\"People perceive the government aid only as charity, where
\nthey have no responsibility,\" she told the seminar.<\/p>\n
Similar to the presidential funds for poor villages, the
\nsafety net program was designed without proper preparation and
\nknowledge of communities, Henny said.<\/p>\n
She was on a team of researchers evaluating the government's
\nsocial safety net program.<\/p>\n
Several non-governmental organizations have demanded that the
\nWorld Bank delay further disbursement of the funds because of a
\nlack of adequate supervision.<\/p>\n
The government has requested Rp 20 trillion for the safety net
\nprogram of the next fiscal year, while promising to introduce
\nindependent monitoring of the funds distribution, among other
\nchecks.<\/p>\n
Henny said that further research needed to be conducted before
\nthe funds were distributed. She said more had to be known about
\nthe recipient communities' attitudes toward outside aid, locals'
\nperceptions of their economic situations, and how capable
\npotential recipients would be in managing donated funds.<\/p>\n
In a number of communities, such as those in Tangerang and
\nKulonprogo in Yogyakarta, several residents said they felt the
\nprogram was forced upon them by the government.<\/p>\n
Henny said there were recipients who felt that their condition
\nwas not as bad as the government understood it to be.<\/p>\n
Rushed preparations based on the assumptions of planners
\nled to the targeted communities also feeling unprepared as they
\nwere not involved in the planning stages at all.<\/p>\n
The team of researchers from the science institute cited a
\nnumber of problems in the implementation of the safety net
\nprogram.<\/p>\n
First, the well intended aid led to jealousy among people
\nbecause of a lack of clear criteria in distribution of the funds.<\/p>\n
New social divisions were seen in villages between those who
\nreceived funds and those who did not.<\/p>\n
The safety net program has also put a new burden on residents,
\nas only vague instructions were given for the use of the funds.<\/p>\n
Antara quoted the researchers as saying this was because the
\nauthorities handing out the money wanted diversification in the
\nuse of the funds, but gave no details or guidelines as to how
\nthis was to be done. As a result the funds were underused, the
\nteam said.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, the safety net program has led to feelings of
\ninferiority among recipients when dealing with administrative
\nofficials relating to the funds, the team said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Antara news agency reported on Wednesday from
\nCanberra, Australia, that the safety net program would be one of
\nthe topics discussed in a meeting in Sydney on Friday on
\nDevelopment Cooperation for the Crisis in Asia.<\/p>\n
Antara quoted the assistant to the director general of the
\nAustralian Development Cooperation Institute, Laurie Engel, as
\nsaying the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund were to
\nbe participants at the talks. (anr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/social-safety-net-seen-as-charity-burden-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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