Emergency fund must be use properly: Mayor
BOGOR (JP): Mayor Eddy Gunardi handed over a Rp 2.52 billion state-sponsored emergency fund on Thursday to representatives of Bogor's 68 villages and subdistricts, reminding them to make sure its allocation was fair and honest, and that it went to the rightful people.
"I also want to remind all related officials to seriously supervise the distribution of the fund in order to prevent it from being given to people based on close relationships," the mayor said in his speech.
The fund, taken from the state budget and earmarked to help poor residents deal with the crippling recession, was received by heads of the villages and subdistricts and an executive of the Community Welfare Organization (LKMD).
An LKMD executive is usually the most senior or model citizen in a respective area.
Mayor Eddy said that he, for example, had ordered officials at the mayoralty's inspectorate, the implementation coordination team, and heads of districts and subdistricts to personally supervise fund distribution at regular intervals.
"Such an effort," he said, "is badly needed in order to reach the correct target and give greater benefits to help improve people's lives."
Besides supervision from the state apparatus, the use and distribution of the fund will be also directly monitored by independent observers, including those from universities and non- governmental organizations, Eddy said, giving no names.
The emergency aid program, funded by the National Development Planning Board, is being conducted under the auspices of the PDMDKE, a program designed to help people cope with the worst effects of the ongoing economic turmoil.
The latest data available reveals that about 50,000 of Bogor's four million population are poor.
As a comparison, Jakarta, home to some 10 million people, received Rp 109.52 billion in emergency aid, which has sparked heated debates due to the lack of transparency in its use.
According to head of Bogor's Development Planning Board, Deddy S. Hamdan, the mayoralty actually received Rp 2.88 billion in emergency aid.
"Some Rp 260 million was used for consultation fees and another Rp 100 million to finance the operation," he explained.
About 47.5 percent of the Rp 2.52 billion earmarked for the area will be allocated for the construction and maintenance of public facilities, such as roads, bridges, dams and water channels, Deddy said.
"All these works might need a labor force of 17,567 people," he said.
The remaining 52.5 percent of the fund will be distributed as capital for small-scale traders, consisting of 2,765 vendors, 1,088 construction workers, 851 home industry businesspeople and 198 farmers, Deddy added. (24/bsr)