Govt to monitor Papua, Aceh budgets

Govt to monitor Papua, Aceh budgets

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The central government is making another attempt to reduce the
authority of autonomous Aceh and Papua by setting up an
assistance team to supervise the use of the regional budget in
those two provinces.

Citing the large amount of money that the two resource-rich
provinces will get under the arrangements outlined in the special
autonomy package, Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno said on
Thursday that the funds would be prone to abuse by both Acehnese
and Papuan officials.

"Since we allocated a huge amount of money to them, we have
the right to supervise its use," Hari said after a limited
Cabinet meeting on Thursday.

Under the arrangements made in the special autonomy, the two
provinces were given the authority to draw up plans on how to
spend their respective budgets while taking into account the
needs of locals.

"The two provinces have submitted their budgets with programs
to the central government and we want to see whether or not those
programs will improve the welfare of locals," Hari said.

During the 2002 fiscal year, Aceh received Rp 2.2 trillion
from the general allocation fund, and another Rp 1.87 trillion
from the profit sharing of oil and gas revenue.

For the 2003 fiscal year, the province will get a total of Rp
2.3 trillion from the general allocation fund, while the profit
sharing will revolve around last year's figure.

Papua, on the other hand, received a total of Rp 1.3 trillion
from the general allocation fund in 2002. That amount went up to
Rp 1.5 trillion in 2003.

In addition, the province got Rp 663 billion from profit
sharing of the oil and gas revenue in 2002 and about the same
amount in 2003.

"The two provinces have a lot of money because of special
autonomy. We would like to see that money improve people's
welfare," Hari said.

The assistance team, Hari said, would consist of
interdepartmental officials so that regional offices could not
refuse the supervision.

He denied allegations that Jakarta was trying to intervene in
the provinces' internal affairs, saying that the central
government was just making sure that education, health and other
public service sectors received a sufficient amount of the
regional budget.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri is known for her resentment
of the implementation of regional autonomy in the country, which
was officially imposed by former president Abdurrahman Wahid in
2000.

Megawati, who took over the national leadership in July 2001
after members of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR)
impeached then president Abdurrahman Wahid for incompetence, had
tried to amend the Regional Autonomy law.

She has blasted regional officials for what she said was their
failure to improve people's welfare, one of the original purposes
of the implementation of regional autonomy.

On Monday, Megawati reminded regional governments of the need
to improve public services, citing that the main purpose of the
implementation of regional autonomy was to ensure people's
welfare.

"Regions must remember that stronger authority means a heavier
obligation, not just more rights," Megawati said while opening a
seminar for the revitalization of Sangihe and Talaud regencies.

The Special Autonomy laws were issued for Papua and Aceh to
appease the Papuans and Acehnese, who had long been disappointed
with government policies in their provinces.

According to the law, the central government has the right to
run several issues, such as defense, currency, foreign affairs
and other fiscal policies.

"Jakarta is aware of the presence of local councils and the
BPKP, but sometimes it takes more than the two agencies to ensure
the effectiveness of allocating the budget for locals," Hari
said.