City in the dark over subsidy for poor residents
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
More than two months after the controversial 29 percent fuel price hike, the poor have not gained any benefit from the slashing of the fuel subsidy as the Jakarta administration is still unsure about the distribution of the compensation fund.
The current ineptitude is in stark contrast to the government's bold advertisements placed in the mass media stating that it would immediately give the fund to the needy, in an apparent move to fend off mounting public opposition to the fuel hike.
"I have tried my best to obtain necessary information about the detailed implementation of the subsidy from relevant governmental institutions, but to no avail. Progress is so slow," head of people's welfare division with the City Development Planning Board (Bappeda) Tuty Kusumawaty told The Jakarta Post.
Tuty's division is the institution in charge of coordinating all sectors for the fund given by the central government in compensation for the fuel price increase.
"We have also asked to the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) about the detailed allocation for the subsidy, but, we have not received it until now," she complained.
In a Bappeda document outlining guidelines for the fund distribution made available to the Post, of the five sectors earmarked for the fund use, only data on the supply of subsidized rice for the poor was available, or about 28,278 tons for this year.
For the four other sectors, namely health services, social welfare, education, and measures to contain unemployment, neither the detailed allocation was mentioned, nor the mechanism for its distribution.
Similarly, Jakarta Health Agency spokesperson Zelvyno could not explain the health scheme to be provided for poor residents.
"What I know is that Jakarta has a quota of 277,134 recipients for subsidized health services from the central government this year. The recipients are mainly those from the low-income bracket who are not registered as Jakarta residents," Zelvyno said.
The mechanism of the subsidy, however, is implemented by state insurance firm PT Askes, she added.
According to her, the agency only manages the subsidy for registered residents of Jakarta who ask for cheaper health services.
The administration allocated Rp 100 billion from the city budget this year for health services for Jakartans in the low- income bracket.
The only progress the administration has made so far is that it could produce basic data about the number of poor residents in the city who will be the target recipients in the 2005 subsidy.
The Jakarta Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS Jakarta) has data on 498,689 poor residents, while the Jakarta Family Planning Board (BKKB Jakarta) reports 847,873.
"In line with the guideline from the central government, we will use the data provided by the BKKB Jakarta as the main reference in the implementation of the fund," said Tuty.