Coordination of Greater Jakarta development poor

Coordination of Greater Jakarta development poor

JAKARTA (JP): The head of the agency in charge of coordinating
development programs in Greater Jakarta said yesterday that
arduous and time-consuming procedures were causing his
organization numerous problems.

E. Gunawan, the head of BKSP Jabotabek, said that it was hard
for the agency to coordinate programs that came under the
simultaneous supervision of the Jakarta and West Java
administrations.

"Just to get approval of one plan, we have to follow so many
procedures and ask for so many signatures. It's slowing down the
agency's work," Gunawan said.

Gunawan made the remarks in response to questions about an
article in the Kompas daily yesterday which revealed the National
Development Planning Board (Bappenas) had established in August a
team to plan the development of the Greater Jakarta area, which
also includes Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi.

Led by the board's fifth deputy, the team is meant to gather
information and data on development issues in Jakarta and
surrounding West Java townships.

BKSP has long been criticized for its lack of authority to
coordinate the development between the capital city and Bogor,
Tangerang and Bekasi.

Strong coordination is needed to solve, among other things,
flood and traffic problems.

Gunawan said the agency's main constraint in coordinating
development in Jakarta and its surrounding areas was a conflict
of interests with central government plans.

He said as an example that as the Jakarta administration had
to coordinate its plans with the central government and West
Java, the agency was often placed in an awkward position.

"Sometimes we can't do anything about it," Gunawan said.

Councilor Fatommy Asaari, who chairs the Golkar faction, said
there was no need to form a new team to coordinate developments
in the Greater Jakarta area and urged the central government to
give more authority to BKSP.

"By forming a new team, it means that it will also have to
coordinate its work with the Jakarta administration, so why
should it have to duplicate the first team's work?" asked
Fattomy.

He pointed out that the most important thing to do was to
eliminate the increasingly selfish tendencies of different
municipalities.

"If a municipality wants to work with another, don't be
selfish. By cooperating closely there should be no problems,"
said Fattomy.

Chairman of the Armed Forces faction, Sumekar Kartawijaya,
also questioned the need to form the team.

If BKSP does not work properly, maybe the new team can replace
it, he said. "The fact is that development in Greater Jakarta is
already managed by BKSP. So, there is no need to form a new
team."

The most important thing now, he said, was to review the work
already done in the coordination of development in the Greater
Jakarta area.

"There's no need to blame each other. Work it out in the best
interests of Greater Jakarta," Sumekar said.

Councilor Achmad Suaidy, who chairs the United Development
Party faction, agreed with the establishment of the Bappenas
team.

"I fully support the team's formation as it will help handle
population problems and help implement the city's master plan,"
he said. (07/ste)