Bigger city budget comes with conditions

Bigger city budget comes with conditions

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Amid rumors of tough discussions between the City Council and administration over a number of issues, the factions on the council unanimously approved next year's city budget on Wednesday.

The budget totals Rp 17.9 trillion, representing a 26 percent increase over this year's Rp 14.2 trillion.

Most of the increase, or 52.7 percent, will go into the pockets of public servants, who will receive an extra allocation of Rp 1.95 trillion.

"Since the increase in the 2006 city budget is mainly due to higher spending on public servants, we would seriously call on the public servants to provide a payback in the form of a significant improvement in their performance," said Abdul Wahab Djamhuri of the Awakening Reform faction (FKR).

The FKR, the smallest faction that is made up of small parties, was the only faction that explicitly expressed reservations over the budget. It also recommended that the procedures for the accessing of free health and education services by disadvantaged residents be simplified.

The second largest party on the council, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), only promised "to tightly monitor" the implementation of the city budget.

Council speaker Ade Surapriatna said on Tuesday that the council had eventually acceded to the city administration's wishes on several issues, including improvements in public services in districts and subdistricts.

All the factions on the council seemed to lack focus over the issues raised with the administration during Wednesday's session featuring final statements from all six factions on the council.

Late last year, the council delayed the approval to the 2005 budget until early in January. The administration has claimed that the delays in some projects this year was due to the tardy approval of the budget.

In the 2006 city budget, the administration is prioritizing such projects as the development of new busway corridors, preparatory work on a mass rapid transit system, flood mitigation, the provision of improved public services in districts and subdistricts, the construction of low cost apartments and free education for students from poor families.