Crisis, debt blamed for RI's low HDI

Crisis, debt blamed for RI's low HDI

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta

A United Nations official and a scholar have blamed the prolonged
economic crisis and the vicious cycle of the nation's debt on the
failure of Indonesia to increase its human development index.

Erna Witoelar, the United Nations special envoy for Millennium
Development Goals for the Asia Pacific, conceded on Sunday the
economic crisis still had an impact on the Indonesian economy,
although macroeconomic indicators had shown signs of improvement
over the last two years.

The prolonged economic crisis has reduced the government's
capability to provide basic services for people.

"The prolonged economic crisis forced the government to shift
its development priority, and it turned out that it wasn't
directed toward improving the lives of the disadvantaged. Due to
the lack of funds, the government no longer provides
contraceptives for free, for example," she told The Jakarta Post.

She said that the crisis had left many people jobless and
impoverished, a situation which stripped them of their ability to
improve their lives.

Erna, former minister for resettlement and regional
infrastructure under Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, also lashed out
at the government, saying that its negligence toward improving
the infrastructure of the country's poorer regions had also
contributed to the slow growth of the Human Development Index
(HDI).

"The government keeps on dispensing funds for the rich and
developed provinces, while the resources-strapped regions are
left to take care of themselves," she said.

According to data from 2002, this year, Indonesia's HDI is
0.692, up from 0.682 the year before.

However, the country seems to be struggling to improve its
citizens' basic conditions.

This year's data show that the average life expectancy at
birth is 66.2 years, down from 66.6 the year before. The same
applies for the adult literacy rate, which falls from 87.9
percent of people aged 15 and above, to 87.3 percent.

The combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrollment
ratio has dropped from 65 percent last year to 64 percent this
year. However, in per capita GDP Indonesia has made a modest
improvement of US$2,940 to US$3,230.

The index has relegated Indonesia into 111th positions from
177 countries surveyed, below Thailand, the Philippines and other
Southeast Asian countries. Last year, it ranked 112th on a list
of 175 countries.

In its commitment to provide health services to its citizens,
Indonesia lagged behind neighboring countries, such as the
Philippines and Thailand. If the Philippines and Thailand spent
1.5 percent and 2.1 percent of its GDP respectively for health
expenditure in 2001, Indonesia spent a paltry 0.6 percent.

For education, Indonesia also spends less compared to
neighboring countries. Where Thailand spent 31 percent of its
budget on education in 1999-2001, Indonesia disbursed only 9.8
percent.

Analyst Revrisond Baswir of the state-run, Yogyakarta-based
Gadjah Mada University (UGM) said that the country would unlikely
manage to up its HDI given its huge debt.

"We are trapped in a vicious cycle of debt, which we have
problems getting out of. One third of our state budget has been
devoted to repaying a huge sum of interest and installments of
foreign loans every year. This has limited the government's
capacity to spend on basic services," he told the Post.