Experts: Regions unprepared for regional autonomy

Experts: Regions unprepared for regional autonomy

JAKARTA (JP): The National Economics Council (DEN) chairman,
Emil Salim, warned on Tuesday of the consequences of the
implementation of regional autonomy laws next year, because,
economically, only seven of the country's 27 provinces could
survive without the central government's assistance.

Speaking at a seminar organized by the National Resilience
Institute (Lemhanas) here, Emil predicted that the survivors
would be Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Java, Riau, East
Kalimantan and Irian Jaya, thanks to their original revenue and
profit-sharing income which were higher than their routine
expenditure.

Emil, one of the country's leading technocrats who designed
the long-term economic development in early 1970s, also
maintained that only 17 regencies and mayoralties of about 300
regencies and mayoralties across the country were able to
economically survive because of government assistance.

"The government needs a general allocation fund to assist the
provinces that are suffering from their routine deficit," he
commented.

Law No. 22/1999 grants more autonomy to local administrations
and Law No. 25/1999 provides a larger proportion of revenue for
the provinces, regencies and mayoralties.

Minister of Finance Bambang Sudibyo disclosed on Saturday that
the local administrations would get more than 61.5 percent of the
government's total domestic revenue when the autonomy laws take
effect next year.

According to Emil, without a subsidy from Jakarta, only
Bekasi, Tangerang, Karawang, Serang, Bogor and Bandung in West
Java, Riau island in Riau, Denpasar and Badung in Bali, Kutai in
East Kalimantan, Medan, Surabaya and Semarang were considered
self-financing regions.

In implementing the autonomy laws, the central government is
required to streamline its bureaucracy and the Cabinet.

"Therefore, a just and fair decentralization of fiscal policy
is strategic to maintaining national unity and integration," Emil
noted.

Emil said President Abdurrahman Wahid was facing heavy
pressure from the regions, because the 350 regencies and
mayoralties were demanding the implementation of the autonomy
policy at the second administrative level, not at provincial
level as currently planned.

"The regents and mayors are scheduled to meet with the
President on Thursday in Kutai to convey their demands," Emil
noted.

Economist Sri Adiningsih from Gajah Mada University said the
regions were frustrated at what they called unfair treatment from
the central government as most of the government's annual budget
was spent in Java.

The economist said that based on data from 1995 and 1996,
before the economic crisis hit the country in 1997, 60 percent of
the national economic cake was enjoyed by the five provinces in
Java, with Jakarta on top with 16 percent.

"Money circulation in Jakarta alone reached between 60 percent
to 70 percent of total national circulation," said Adiningsih,
who also addressed the seminar.

In the Dark

In a related scientific forum held by Hasanuddin University in
Makassar, South Sulawesi, senior sociologist Selo Soemardjan said
many people remained in the dark about the form of regional
autonomy.

"They don't even know what autonomy really means. Therefore,
they don't have any idea what sort of regional autonomy will be
applied," he said at the opening of a four-day international
symposium on regional administration.

Selo said that the regional autonomy laws had been so badly
promoted that many people were poorly informed about them.

"Many people are unaware that the law acknowledges the
traditional administration of villages. Article 93 of the law
stipulates that villagers have the power to establish, dissolve
or unite villages upon approval of the regencies," he said.

Ben Mboi, former governor of East Nusa Tenggara, agreed,
saying that the concept of regional autonomy was unclear.

"If the concept of the extended autonomy only means more
burdens on the regencies or mayoralties, provinces with many
regencies will suffer," he said, citing East and West Nusa
Tenggara, Maluku, Irian Jaya, South and Southeast Sulawesi as
examples. (27/prb/sur)