59 programs left to go, halfway through countdown
59 programs left to go, halfway through countdown
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has
completed only three of 66 development programs in its first 50
days in office, leaving doubts as to whether it could complete
the ambitious programs before the 100-day period is up in
January.
State Minister of National Development Planning Sri Mulyani
Indrawati said on Friday that the lackluster performance was due
to sluggish bureaucracy and problems in legal infrastructure.
"We must prioritize those programs we can achieve in the first
100 days," she explained during an evaluation of the new
government's performance.
The three finished programs are: a presidential decree on
anticorruption drive, the President's two key overseas trips to
the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Chile and
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in
Laos, and the disbursement of Idul Fitri bonuses to civil
servants.
Susilo announced the programs along with his United Indonesia
Cabinet on Oct. 21 -- one day after he took office.
The programs cover three broad agenda: one, to promote peace
and security; two, to promote justice and democracy; and three,
to achieve national prosperity.
Programs included under the first agenda are conflict
resolution and combating terrorism.
As regards the second agenda, Sri said: "The government is
doing legal reform, reforming bureaucracy and combating
corruption."
She said the third could be achieved through improving the
investment climate, stabilizing macroeconomic indicators and
alleviating poverty.
Aside from its three major agenda, the Susilo administration
also has 'special' ad hoc programs, such as ensuring security and
peace over the Idul Fitri and Christmas holidays, and flood-
prevention and mitigation.
According to the minister, four other programs are halfway
finished: a government decree on antiterrorism agency,
prosecution of high-profile illegal logging cases, promotion of
investment and legal certainty in the oil and gas sector, and
developing human resources in education.
Sri said the government was working hard to complete these
four and the remaining 59 programs, and appeared upbeat that they
would be completed on time.
Sri also said several ministers had also contributed
initiatives, citing a Ministry of Public Works land clearing
program for the construction of the Jakarta Outer Ring Road.