Sutiyoso told to take note of people's needs<\/p>\n
Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Observers urged Governor Sutiyoso on Wednesday to start listening
\nto the people and allow them to take an active part in running
\nthe city based upon a participatory approach.<\/p>\n
Azas Tigor Nainggolan of the Jakarta Citizens Forum (Fakta)
\nand Tubagus Haryo Karbyanto of the Legal Aid Institute (LBH),
\ntold The Jakarta Post separately that the city administration
\nshould change the way it approached development in the city by
\ndirectly involving the public.<\/p>\n
They were commenting on the newly endorsed City Strategic Plan
\n(Renstra), which they deemed inadequate for ensuring a better
\ndevelopment process in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Tubagus said that in implementing development, it was
\nimportant for Sutiyoso to start listening to the views of
\nJakartans and engage in a sincere dialog to find out what they
\nreally wanted from the city administration.<\/p>\n
In some instances, the city administration had said it wished
\nto invite the views of the public, but it was useless as
\nofficials refused to listen to what people said.<\/p>\n
\"The city administration, for example, has asked for the
\nopinions of community unit (RW) and neighborhood unit (RT) heads
\non how to prepare for possible floods,\" said Tubagus.<\/p>\n
\"But sadly, such participation is only sought after the
\ndisasters have already taken place, or the level of participation
\nonly amounts to lip-service.\"<\/p>\n
Tubagus, however, said it was not too late for Sutiyoso to
\nimprove the Strategic Plan so as to pave a smoother path for his
\nsuccessor.<\/p>\n
\"There will always be huge problems in Jakarta to be tackled
\nby Sutiyoso or whoever the governor happens to be,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"The Strategic Plan is such a long-term document. If Sutiyoso
\nmanages to improve it, he will make the job of his successor
\neasier,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The City Council endorsed the Strategic Plan through a bylaw
\non Tuesday while on Monday the City Council passed two other
\nbylaws, one on the City Development Guidelines (Poldas) and one
\non the City Development Program (Propeda).<\/p>\n
\"I have had difficulties in obtaining these three documents,
\nwhile I need to study them further. How can the city
\nadministration expect society to fully understand such documents
\nwhen they are hard to come by?\" asked Tubagus.<\/p>\n
\"This shows that the city administration has yet to change and
\nis reluctant to become more transparent and open.\"<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Azas said the city administration needed to
\nfacilitate public participation not only in the planning process
\nbut also in the budgeting process.<\/p>\n
\"The subdistrict heads and subdistrict councils should be
\nallowed to draft their own projects instead of being handed on a
\nplate those already formulated by City Hall.<\/p>\n
\"This would force the subdistrict heads and councils to really
\nlisten to the residents and get to know their areas better,\" he
\nadded.<\/p>\n
Azas also questioned the absence of clear indicators in the
\nStrategic Plan to allow for an evaluation of the governor's
\nperformance.<\/p>\n
\"Even some of the councillors regretted that they failed to
\ndraft more specific indicators on how to assess the city
\nadministration's performance,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sutiyoso-told-to-take-note-of-peoples-needs-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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