Council questions funding of public service program
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
As the Jakarta administration has proposed the continuation of a public service improvement program at district and subdistrict level in next year's budget, the City Council has urged the evaluation of this year's pilot program.
"It is difficult for us to approve the program for next year while we have not been informed of the success of the pilot program," said member of City Council Commission A for administration and government affairs Muhammad Arifin on Monday.
The public service improvement program was one of the pivotal issues raised in Monday's deliberation of the city's draft budget for 2006.
The pilot program is being implemented in 10 districts and 50 subdistricts this year. Each appointed district or subdistrict has received Rp 1 billion (US$100,000) for the program.
In the draft budget for 2006, the administration proposes the allocation of Rp 268.50 billion for all 267 subdistricts. Each subdistrict would be authorized to manage around Rp 1.7 billion to improve public services.
Another Rp 132 billion is proposed for the same program at district level. Each of the total 44 districts would manage Rp 4 billion for public service improvement.
Councillor Vike Verry Ponto of the Democratic Party faction demanded that the relevant officials attend the hearing to report on the program's success.
"The program involves large amounts of money. To approve it, we must be convinced that the money will be managed efficiently," he said.
Deputy Governor Fauzi Bowo, who also attended the hearing on Monday, refused to comment on the councillors' stance as he was yet to receive an evaluation of the program.
"Better that you ask the other officials, because I do not know if the pilot program has been evaluated," said Fauzi, who introduced the program to subdistrict officials through a series of workshops in 2003.
He said that, under the program, subdistrict and district heads were expected to address public needs without delay.
Head of the Jakarta Development Planning Board (Bappeda) Achmad Harjadi previously said the program was among priority programs for the city in 2006.
According to Achmad, of the Rp 1.7 billion allocated for each subdistrict, Rp 700,000 would be for the operational costs of the subdistrict office, while the remaining Rp 1 billion was to finance projects proposed by residents, including in the areas of security, public order, sanitation and health.
Meanwhile, for the program at district level, Rp 1 billion is for operational costs at the district office, while the remaining Rp 3 billion would be for activities proposed by the public, including to improve street lighting, roads, waterways and public order.