City watchdog sees no reform on horizon

City watchdog sees no reform on horizon

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Jakarta may still be dealing with its four main problems --
garbage, flooding, a poor health system and traffic jams -- for
many years to come, due to a distinct lack of professionalism, a
city watchdog announced on Tuesday after unveiling a report.

"The administration should humbly admit that it has not been
serious or professional enough in dealing with the problems,"
stated the 23-page annual report put together by the Jakarta
Residents Forum (Fakta) and entitled, Jakarta: A Megalopolis or A
Dump?

Since the same administration will be managing the city until
at least 2007, "the conditions will not change much from that of
the last few years," said Fakta chairman Azas Tigor Nainggolan.

Also attending the seminar on the report, Deputy Governor
Fauzi Bowo argued that the administration was doing all it could
to deal with the four key problems. "But it's like listening to
the 1001 Arabian nights tales ... there is never an end to it,"
he mused.

He said the administration was still planning to construct the
decades overdue East Flood Canal as well as a long-planned
reservoir in Ciawi, West Java, but explained that those things
would not eliminate flooding as long as people continued to
litter their environment so egregiously.

"There needs to be a change in people's attitude about the
disposal of garbage," said Fauzi. "Floods and garbage go hand in
hand."

He explained that the rivers in the city were only able to
flow at about 40 percent of their normal rate because they were
clogged with garbage.

East Jakarta mayor Koesnan Halim, who was also invited by
Fakta, admitted that about 70 percent of the residents in his
municipality regularly toss their garbage directly into one of
several rivers and canals.

Fakta stated that although Governor Sutiyoso had warned for
years that everybody would soon be "sleeping on garbage", his
administration had yet to resolve the matter, as evidenced by its
failure to keep the Bojong and Bantar Gebang waste disposal
facilities operating. Those two dumps are in Bogor and Bekasi,
respectively, and local residents in those towns have vehemently
opposed Jakarta's trash being dumped on them.

The report also blamed "the now yearly phenomenon of flooding"
on the rapid construction of malls and housing complexes." It
noted that there were a total of 12 new malls completed in 2004
and 11 more that were currently being built.

Fauzi Bowo admitted that the construction of buildings
compounded the flood problem.

"Those buildings reduce the capability of the land to absorb
water," said Fauzi. "But there is nothing the administration can
do to stop it. If we refuse to let them build on one site, they
will simply find another."

The report cited health problems caused by the poor drainage
and flooding that left water standing and provided an ideal
breeding ground for dengue-carrying mosquitoes. It expressed
concern over the dengue outbreak and the administration's failure
to deal with it effectively.

Concerning traffic conditions, the report noted that although
the administration had begun construction of an integrated
transportation system, traffic problems would continue to exist
as long as both police officers and motorists failed to obey the
laws and drive responsibly. (002)