Fish farmers complain of alleged misuse of funds

Fish farmers complain of alleged misuse of funds

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Fish farmers of Rawamalang, Cilincing in North Jakarta, alleged
deception on Tuesday in the disbursement of funds promised by the
city administration in compensation for damage to their fish
ponds caused by liquid waste from a city dump.

Edy Djubaidi, who led fellow fish farmers in a meeting with
City Council Commission D overseeing development affairs to file
the complaint, revealed that the city officials kept on changing
their statements on the amount of the promised compensation.

"Earlier, we were informed that we would receive Rp 270
million (US$31,952) to be shared among 26 fish farmers. But the
official later changed it to Rp 217 million for 90 fish farmers
in Cilincing and Marunda, North Jakarta," he told the
councillors.

With that amount, each of the farmers would receive only Rp
2.4 million which would barely cover their losses.

Edy claimed that he had made a field check in Marunda and
found that none of the fish ponds in the vicinity had been
affected by the seepage of toxic waste generated by the open
dump.

In an effort to seek clarification, Edy and 25 other fish
farmers accompanied by Azas Tigor Nainggolan of the Jakarta
Residents Forum (Fakta), also met with the assistant to the
Jakarta City Secretary for Development Affairs, IGKG Suena.

Suena claimed his second statement was correct. "I gave
incorrect information at that time. The fund is actually Rp 217
million, not Rp 270 million as stated earlier," he said, adding
that the fund will be taken from the city's emergency fund.

However, Suena promised to ask the Jakarta Fishery Agency and
Finance office why they planned to give such a small amount in
compensation.

"The fish farmer's have a right to receive the fund," he said.

Another fish farmer, Salim Atmaja, lamented that the fishery
agency had made an assessment of the losses incurred without
consulting the farmers.

Previously, the farmers had demanded Rp 774 million in
compensation. The farmers asked that the amount be calculated
taking into account the expenses needed to rehabilitate the
polluted farms and potential lost earnings during that period.

The administration closed the dump last month after the Office
of the State Minister of the Environment and urban activists
revealed that the area around the dump became heavily polluted
after the site was first used on Jan. 4.

The seepage of liquid waste from the trash dumped at the
temporary dump that flowed into a canal had killed thousands of
fish and shrimp in 35 hectares of fish farms in the vicinity.