Inter-city body tackles capital's relentless growth

JAKARTA (JP): The Inter-Indonesian Municipalities Organization, BKS-AKSI, is helping the government control the capital's relentless growth.

An official of the organization said yesterday that it is involved in a program called "Bangga Suka Desa", which is under the auspices of the National Family Planning Board.

The phrase is an abbreviation of Pembangunan Keluarga Modern Dalam Suasana Kota di Pedesaan, which means developing modern families in villages with a suburban atmosphere.

"The organization has been preparing two villages in Greater Jakarta as pilot projects," Untung Widodo, the head of the program at BKS-AKSI, said.

The villages are Jogrek and Taman Rahayu in the Bogor regency.

Untung said the program is aimed at controlling urbanization, including efforts to improve villages' economic circumstances.

The organization helps villagers increase their income through various forms of support given to existing industries, he said.

Untung said a women's underwear home industry in Jogrek, and a female accessories industry in Taman Rahayu are among the economic operations earmarked for future assistance by the organization in the last six months.

He added the full project is expected to begin early next year.

Untung explained that the organization will assist in the production, distribution and marketing of products.

"For example, we plan to order three containers of accessories from Taman Rahayu to be exported to South Korea because companies from Jakarta cannot meet the demand," he said.

Untung said the program, which will eventually be expanded nationwide, is currently limited to Java.

Hopefully, he said, it will dissuade villagers from going to Jakarta to find a better life.

The deputy governor for economic and development affairs, TB. M. Rais, said on Thursday that the central government should develop other cities to control urbanization growth.

Economists say over 60 percent of the country's money circulates in Jakarta, attracting migrants seeking a share.

The latest records indicate that the city's birth rate is 1.38 percent a year, while urbanization growth is annually 1.03 percent.

The United Nations predicts Jakarta will be home to 21.2 million people by 2015, making it the fifth most populous city in the world.

The municipality's estimate is lower. It has projected that with a population growth of 2.4 percent per year, the number of residents in Jakarta in 2015 will be 15.2 million people. (yns)