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."