Alternatives in handling floods

Alternatives in handling floods

Recently there has been a lot of coverage on the flooding and
the financial and social problems it has caused; the kampong in
my own area being a victim. The governor seems to be blamed the
most.

Having lived here for over 20 years ... this is nothing new.
Development in Puncak under previous administrations and other
areas where it should never have been allowed are also a major
cause of the floods. A classic example is the airport toll road.
Another of course is an antiquated flood management system which
seems to have hardly changed since the Dutch times.

My understanding is until only few years ago the
responsibility of flood management in Jakarta was solely in the
hands of the central government, not the governor. Ex governor
Ali Sadikin mentioned something to that extent in a recent
interview in Kompas.

Frankly any governor would be facing the same problem today.
Taking over that position during a five-year monetary crisis with
significant changes in the government and decades of inactivity
with regards flood management do not make this an easy job.

Now that the Jakarta administration is responsible, the City
Council should be supporting the governor in these type of
programs and providing whatever assistance is required to raise
funding. In the end they are equally responsible for the success
or failure of the governor in power.

This flooding problem is now an extraordinary budget item
which requires additional and urgent funding over the next three
to five years. Given that drainage is hardly an attractive
foreign investment opportunity the City Council will have to
consider alternatives.

DAVID WHITAKER

Jakarta