Jakarta flood victims to get cash aid

Jakarta flood victims to get cash aid

Ahmad Junaidi and Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Flood victims could feel some hope and relief after the
Jakarta administration announced on Wednesday it would directly
give them financial assistance to overcome the calamity that hit
the city from Jan. 28.

City spokesman Muhayat said each damaged house -- excluding
those built along riverbanks -- owned by poor residents would
receive Rp 200,000 (US$19.5) in financial assistance.

"There must be thousands of damaged houses across the city.
However, we have still to decide by how much they will be
assisted by the administration or the government," he said.

The figure was much less than the amount of donations received
by the administration recently.

On Wednesday, Minister of Social Affairs Bachtiar Chamsyah
told reporters, after a hearing with House of Representatives
Commission VII on Welfare, that the government would allocate Rp
11 trillion (US$1 billion) from the State Budget for social
compensation and resettlement of the people whose homes had been
destroyed by the floods. That amount, if it reached the target,
could renovate a total of 55 million homes, as long as they only
received Rp 200,000 each.

Bachtiar said his ministry would not specify details of the
grants but would fully authorize the administration to manage
them. A decision that caused controversy recently concerned an
earlier payment, worth Rp 200 million, that is still in the
account of the city's flood monitoring committee. It remains
unclear where the money will go, either to buy food or repair
houses.

There is no guarantee either that the full amount of the funds
mentioned by the city administration will actually be disbursed
in view of the lack of transparency and inefficiency that could
well characterize the distribution effort.

As soon as Governor Sutiyoso announced on Monday the
availability of Rp 505 billion in emergency funds, many agencies
increased their budgets to restore damaged public facilities.

The long list of donors is getting longer, including a
donation from former president Soeharto, through his Gotong
Royong foundation, which handed over Rp 250 million on Monday.
Some of the money would be used to repair 375 damaged houses.

The Ministry of Social Affairs handed over Rp 1 billion to buy
food, including 50 tons of rice and clothing, to the
administration last week. The Office of the Coordinating Minister
of Security and Political Affairs has also donated 15 tons of
rice and food.

A total of 10,019 items of new children's clothing and 100
tons of rice were handed over by the Office of the Coordinating
Minister for Peoples' Welfare.

Regional autonomy has not weakened solidarity either, as the
city administration also received 60,000 kilograms of salted fish
from the Bangka Belitung administration. It also received Rp 50
million from the asphalt association of Buton island of Southeast
Sulawesi.

Hundreds of thousands of flood victims have taken refuge in
temporary shelters such as mosques, churches and school
buildings. Most victims are still reluctant to return to their
homes although the water has receded.

Since the flooding began on Jan. 28, many victims have
criticized the administration for not lending a helping hand.
Instead, they gave two thumbs-up to students, organizations,
private companies and individual donors, who had quickly worked
hand-in-hand to provide food and shelter for them.

Despite the donations received recently, many victims feared
they would not benefit due to the inequitable distribution of
assistance. Some shelters, at inaccessible locations, hardly
received assistance at all.