Babies and corruption
Babies and corruption
Recently The Jakarta Post reported two separate news stories.
One was that nearly seven million young Indonesian children are
undernourished and at risk of permanent developmental damage
because of poverty and malnutrition.
The second informed us that the disbursement of a second World
Bank poverty-assistance loan of US$300 million has been canceled
because of Indonesia's inadequate implementation of certain loan
conditions during the implementation of the first $300 million
tranche. Said the World Bank, "The reasons for the shortcomings
are varied, but often resulted from the slow pace of meaningful
change in institutions and bureaucratic culture". If there was
any doubt about what the bank meant, their announcement ended on
a refreshingly unambiguous note: some of the program funds were
embezzled by corrupt officials.
If ever anyone needed confirmation of corruption's devastating
effects, these two news items should be all the confirmation we
will ever need. Why, then, is the government still treating
corruption like an embarrassing odor someone leaves behind in a
crowded room, rather than like the social killer it is?
Indonesia has received millions of dollars in aid specifically
for anticorruption efforts. If anyone needed confirmation of how
questionable the results of these well-funded programs are, we
need only refer to the candid remarks of former Justice Adi
Andojo Soetjipto when he resigned from his position as head of
one anticorruption groups: "We aren't accomplishing anything".
Too bad the same World Bank people that looked into the
poverty program were not assigned to examine the anticorruption
groups (which may be funded by other lenders). All these
workshops, all the documents, all the nice websites, all the nice
salaries and honoraria for board members ... but where are the
changes? Which provinces and cities have significantly less
corruption in daily life, as judged by their own citizens? Are
Indonesian adults getting their money's worth from the funds
spent on anticorruption programs? Let us hope they are doing
better than the seven million babies who are suffering a slow
wasting of their bodies and minds because money to alleviate
their families' poverty has been stolen by corrupt officials.
DONNA K. WOODWARD
Medan, North Sumatra