City to disburse part of Rp 73b fund to 267 subdistricts

City to disburse part of Rp 73b fund to 267 subdistricts

JAKARTA (JP): The city administration will soon disburse part
of the Rp 73 billion (US$7.3 million) budget allocated for its
267 subdistricts which are complaining of their inability to
cover their operational costs, an official said on Monday.

Head of the city administration supervision division Koesnan
A. Halim said the fund, which will be disbursed every quarter,
would be used to pay the subdistricts' operational expenditures
including telephone, electricity and water bills.

"The subdistricts should not worry as the fund will be
disbursed at the end of this month," Koesnan told reporters.

He said some 70 percent of the Rp 73 billion fund would be
disbursed equally among the 267 subdistricts, while the remaining
30 percent would be disbursed according to the size of each
subdistrict.

Koesnan estimated that each subdistrict would receive between
Rp 200 million and Rp 240 million this year, while last year they
received an average of Rp 120 million.

The budget increase for the subdistricts is because the funds
will also be used to pay the stipends of subdistrict councillors
and the operational costs of the councils which will start their
activities in April, he said.

But Koesnan did not specify the amount of the stipends to be
paid to subdistrict councillors.

"Although the councils are funded by the city budget, they
must have their own financial administration systems separate
from ours," he said.

Subdistrict councils are new institutions designed to empower
people at the grass-roots level in participating in the
development of their respective communities, as well as
controlling the activities of the subdistrict administrations.

City Bylaw No. 5/2000 on the establishment of the councils
stipulates that a subdistrict councillor shall serve a five-year
term. A council is made up of one representative from each
Neighborhood Community (RW). Generally, one RW overseas 10
Neighborhood Units (RT).

Koesnan said the subdistrict budgets would also be used to pay
the monthly wages of their security guards amounting to Rp
300,000 each. Previously, the security guards were not subsidized
by the administration.

He said the city administration would only allow each of the
subdistricts to hire 10 security guards (locally known as Hansip
or civilian defense officers).

He said the city would also subsidize the payment of
subdistrict employees' wages of Rp 100,000 per month each.

Koesnan said the Rp 73 billion fund for the subdistricts would
be taken from the 2001 City Budget which amounted to Rp 7.49
trillion.

He dismissed the possibility that the subdistricts could not
cover their operational costs.

"They know how to cover the costs," he said without giving
further details.

Some subdistrict heads who asked for anonymity complained that
they had yet to pay their electricity and telephone bills for
January and February.

They said their subdistricts had made every effort to cover
their operational costs which reached Rp 20 million a month per
subdistrict, but without success.

"We hope the city administration will soon disburse the fund,"
one of the subdistrict heads said. (jun)