Ciputat road works

Ciputat road works

From Bisnis Indonesia

A news item in the Nov. 13 edition of Bisnis Indonesia implied that the private sector is prepared to lend a helping hand in addressing the road problems of Ciputat and its surroundings.

This is joyful news. Actually, the Ciputat road solution package should be tackled by the Tangerang administration and related offices. Ciputat's traffic jams are legendary.

The Tangerang regional government should follow up on this opportunity because of the present shortcomings in its administration, such as a lack of donations and the restriction of funds at regional administrative levels.

There is a shortage of finances, since the government is no longer capable of funding the entire transportation infrastructure. On the other hand, the regional government failed to secure funds from the private sector and the local populace to repair extremely damaged roads.

There are only a few professionals in the technical and management sector. This is reflected in the amount of available management funds, which contradicts several media reports sometime ago which claimed that Rp 1.6 billion in the 1996/97 State Budget had been earmarked for Ciputat road repairs.

However, no action of importance in this field, or an indication of public works in progress, can be noted. Meanwhile, the closing date of the State Budget, March 1997, is rapidly approaching.

We have reached the conclusion that help from the Indonesian Real Estate Association, Tangerang branch, has to be sought and fully utilized, in a serious bid to overcome traffic snarls in Ciputat and in the vicinity.

The regional administration is expected to ease up procedures and participate in a positive way to ensure a smooth project implementation. We hope that there will be no officials who will turn this into an opportunity to serve their own ends.

IMAM S. HARJOWIJOYO

Tangerang, West Java