Irian Jaya to spend bonanza on education

Irian Jaya to spend bonanza on education

R.K. Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura

Irian Jaya Governor Jaap Salossa said here on Thursday that 30
percent of Rp 6 trillion (US$600 million) the province will get
from the financial sharing with the central government, based on
the special autonomy for the province, would be spent on human
resources development.

"We will spend 30 percent of Rp 6 trillion (around Rp 1.8
trillion) on human resources development, and 15 percent on
public health. These figures are incredible," Salossa said in
Jayapura on Thursday.

"Next year's Rp 1.8 trillion for human resources development
is almost 10 times as much as the current budget for the same
purpose."

In the current fiscal year of 2000-2001 the (central)
government provided Irian Jaya with a general allocation fund,
plus education and health care fund amounting to Rp 3.5 trillion.

The general allocation fund alone amounted Rp 331 billion plus
mostly for the salaries of around 9,000 civil servants in the
province.

"If you ask me if the administration is ready to manage that
much money, my answer is that we must be ready. Maybe there will
be some small misappropriation, but it will be impossible for us
to hire people (from outside Irian Jaya) to manage the money,"
Jaap said in Jayapura.

Jaap did not reveal how the administration would allocate Rp 6
trillion, saying only that he was optimistic the administration
would handle the money properly.

The House of Representatives (DPR) passed the special autonomy
bill on Papua (Irian Jaya) into law on Oct. 22 amid protests from
certain groups in Irian Jaya and Jakarta.

According to the law, the province will get 80 percent of
revenues from forestry and fishery and 70 percent of revenue from
oil, gas and mining.

Oil, gas and mining revenues will be reviewed after 25 years,
and during that time, the government will give Irian Jaya people
increased central government funding for education and health
care.

Meanwhile, noted Jayapura-based lawyer Robert Korwa expressed
his pessimism on Thursday, saying that the management of that
much money could be complicated.

"The province got Rp 400 billion in human resources
development crash program from then Vice President Megawati
Soekarnoputri. No one knew where and what for the money had
gone," said Robert, a native of Wamena.

"The problem now is how to monitor the use of the money. A
monitoring team involving local figures and academics must be set
up. Journalists must also monitor the spending of the money," he
said.

"That amount of money could trigger corruption or jealousy
among Irian people. This is very problematic."

Jaap said that President Megawati would visit Irian Jaya on
Dec. 22 to enact the law on special autonomy for Papua (Irian
Jaya).

"The law will be the Papuans' Idul Fitri and Christmas gift,"
he said referring to Muslims' Idul Fitri celebration which will
fall on Dec. 16 and Dec. 17 and Christmas on Dec. 25.

Jaap acknowledged that certain groups of Papuans were against
the special autonomy law and wanted independence. "They have
their political rights. But not all Papuans want independence."