Banten strives to retrieve 22 islands from Jakarta

The Jakarta Post, Tangerang

Banten's first governor, Djoko Munandar, faces tough challenges to improve the welfare of the local people and to develop his new province, part of which is still under the control of the Jakarta administration.

One of the toughest challenges is likely to be whether the new province is successful in its attempts to acquire 22 islands in the Kepulauan Seribu island chain located northwest of Jakarta.

Banten officials claim that the 22 islands, currently controlled by the Jakarta administration, are part of the new province and have urged Jakarta to hand them over to the Banten administration.

The Banten Provincial Legislative Council (DPRD) recommended last week that the local government officially ask Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno to serve as mediator in settling the dispute over the claim for the 22 islands.

The Banten council also planned to set up a special team to prepare for the acquisition of the islands.

The Jakarta administration has rejected Banten's claim. "The islands belong to us according to the law. Banten may claim the islands, but they should change the law first," Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso said in November last year, referring to Law No. 34/1999 on his administration.

He said government regulation No. 55/2001 on Kepulauan Seribu regency also strengthened the argument that they belonged to the city.

Earlier, Tangerang regency, in Banten province, also claimed that nine of the 22 disputed islands belonged to the regency, since they were located nearer to Tangerang than Jakarta.

The Tangerang regency administration has said it would file a judicial review with the Supreme Court against the government regulation.

The Tangerang regency argued that according to Law No. 22/1999 on regional autonomy, nine islands in the chain belong to the regency as they were located less than four miles from the Tangerang coastline.

The nine disputed islands are Rambut, Karang, Laki, Cangkir, Bokor, Karang Tiga, Gosong, Untung Jawa and Ubi Kecil.

In a plenary session last Wednesday, the Banten legislature also issued several other recommendations for Governor Djoko and his deputy Ratu Atut Choisiyah for development in the province.

The recommendations focus on plans for physical development programs in Banten.

DPRD chairman Dharmono K. Lawi said the recommendations were based on the results of his council's working visits and observations in villages as well as meetings with members of the public.

The provincial administration should pay attention to the principles of efficiency, effectiveness, transparency, justice, responsibility and fairness in disbursing development funds to regencies, he said.

The council called for independent teams, including community leaders, to be involved in supervising the implementation of development projects.

"However, all policies on project implementations ranging from bids and executive appointments to quality evaluations must be dealt with by the provincial administration," Dharmono added.

He said the DPRD also recommended that the administration maintain good relations with business groups to help speed up the development of infrastructure and the improvement of local people's welfare.

Recommendations also include priority in the tight selection of local senior officials involved in development projects.

The council cited the criteria requirements for officials, such as integrity, technical qualifications, discipline, a sense of responsibility and managerial skills as well as good leadership.

"This is expected to make them (local officials) carry out their state duties as well as possible and fulfill the people's hopes and demands," Darmono said.

He said the regional administration must also carefully select contractors and planning and supervising consultants involved in this year's development projects across the province.

According to Darmono, contractors and consultants involved in previous projects should no longer be invited to participate in tenders for 2002 development activities as the results of their past work did not meet the required criteria.

In addition, the council also recommended that the Banten administration review the collusion- and corruption-tainted recruitment of civil servants in the province.

Officials who played roles in questionable recruitment practices should also be removed, Darmono said.

He said the government should begin compiling data on total assets and infrastructure in Banten such as a roads and bridges so the new province would be able to optimize the use of the infrastructure to improve its regional revenues.

Asked while on a visit to flood victims in the province's capital of Tangerang on Thursday whether his administration could adequately carry out the recommendations by the legislature, Governor Djoko simply said: "We will try to do our best. Let's just wait and see."

Banten was officially established as the country's 30th province in October 2000.

The council elected Djoko and Atut Choisiyah, both politicians from the United Development Party (PPP), as the province's first governor and his deputy in November last year for the 2001-2006 period. They were sworn in one month later by the home affairs minister.