Bigger Jakarta budget, lower performance

Bigger Jakarta budget, lower performance

Azas Tigor Nainggolan, Jakarta Citizens' Forum (FAKTA), Jakarta
Social Institute (ISJ)

At the beginning of 2002 the Jakarta administration and
legislative council again demonstrated their corrupt credentials,
ignoring the interests of Jakarta citizens in the process.
Instead of improving their services to Jakarta, these elitist
institutions have wasted and abused citizens' funds in the
Jakarta regional budget.

In the formulation of last year's budget, we criticized the
Jakarta elite for not having a pro-citizen or humane vision, and
for their perfunctory performance.

Addressing citizens' interests must become the key performance
indicator as the regional budget is financed through community
funds in the form of taxes and other kinds of contributions. Yet
last year's budget allocated only 30 percent of funds to the
citizens and 70 percent to the administration and council.

A close look at the draft of the 2002 budget shows that the
vision of improving local people's welfare is rhetoric. The goals
of the budget policy contrast with the contents of the budget.

The objectives for this year's budget include the improvement
of public welfare through the provision of basic necessities,
health services and better quality education. Another objective
is the creation of a professional, highly dedicated and
untarnished administration that is free from corruption,
collusion and nepotism.

Those eloquent sentences were also included in the 2001
budget, which failed to live up to their lofty sentiment. Scores
of people were evicted in 2001. Sidewalk vendors and pedicab
drivers lost their livelihood. Children dropped out of school
because their parents could not afford to pay the tuition fees
after losing their jobs.

Once again the budget violates the principle of humanity. The
2002 budget allocates, again, a big wardrobe for the Governor --
Rp 65 million per year or Rp 5.4 million a month. How many
cupboards are needed to store the Governor's wardrobe over four
years?

Funding of Rp 29.99 billion has been allocated for official
residences including that of the governor and mayors; Rp 34.3
billion for the maintenance of office equipment; and Rp 4.4
billion for feeding animals in Ragunan Zoo.

The allocation for infants' and pregnant mothers' nutrition is
only Rp 3.1 billion and for the burial of poor patients, Rp 330
million. This comparison really has us scratching our heads.

There is an allocation of Rp 63.5 billion for security and
public order in 2002, a sharp decrease from around Rp 124 billion
in 2001. These funds are provided for the maintenance of public
order, especially for measures against poor Jakarta residents.
Last year this allocation was only used to evict the pedicab
drivers, sidewalk vendors and for resettlements of the poor.

After every eviction exercise, the administration always
claims that the evicted have been compensated. But the money has
reportedly been used to purchase tear gas guns used in evictions.
The allocation for this sector in 2002 indicates that the
administration will continue to use the funds for evictions and
other repressive measures against civilians.

Meanwhile a number of cases have yet to be settled, such as
the 2000 "Ancolgate" affair, which implicated city officials.

Law enforcement is worsening. Officials live extravagantly
with funds obtained from illegal levies. Citizens have to pay
more than the official rate for essential services, such as
obtaining birth certificates, identification cards and business
permits. Even death certificates are subject to the payment of
illegal levies if families wish to bury loved ones speedily.

Thus, the funds allocated over the years to the population
sector, the legal sector and the apparatus control sector have
failed to create a clean administration. The budget has increased
every year, but the city's performance has continued to
deteriorate.

The 2002 budget has been projected at Rp 8.92 trillion, a
roughly 9.5 percent increase on the Rp 8.12 trillion allocated in
2001. The council does not exercise its control function, which
seemed to be related to the administration's skills in keeping
people silent. The administration has allocated Rp 102.43 billion
in the 2002 regional budget for the 85 members, meaning that each
member would receive a total of over Rp 1 billion per year or
over Rp 100 million per month. Higher performance is unlikely.

The councilors have not proposed significant changes nor have
they raised criticisms of the draft budget earlier proposed by
Governor Sutiyoso. Thus the budget will mainly feature expenses
for the officials instead of clearly displaying the income and
expenditure expected for the city.

Weaker control from outside the municipality and the council
can also be expected. A representative organization, the Dewan
Kelurahan (Dekel) or subdistrict council, was formed in 2001 and
has about 2,500 members. Each member represents the neighborhood
level (Rukun Warga, RW) and is elected directly by RW residents.

The 2002 regional budget will provide Rp 15.52 billion for an
honorary allowance for Dekel members, Rp 1.6 billion for meetings
and Rp 640 million for members' transportation allowance. The
allocation of such funds and facilities will likely make Dekel
members less sensitive to the interests of those who elected
them.

It is also feared that the allocation of projects to non
governmental organizations and academics will weaken supervision
of the municipality. Some journalists have also regarded offices
of the Jakarta administration and legislative council as
lucrative posts or sources of additional income.

In 2001, the administration offered foreign trips to
reporters, a policy that some fear will make journalists
reluctant to write about officials' and councilors' misconduct.

So it would be rather difficult to hope for better public
welfare. Without being able to rely on their representatives and
others who are supposed to speak up for them, Jakarta residents
are left to their own devices to rescue their money.