Jakarta to have new monitoring councils

JAKARTA (JP): In order to monitor development programs in lower-level administrations, the city administration is planning to establish councils in the city's five mayoralties and 265 subdistricts, a city councilor said on Wednesday.

Head of the council's Commission A on government affairs Binsar Tambunan said the policy to establish councils at the mayoralty and subdistrict levels was stipulated in a law passed this year.

"Law No. 34/1999 on the Special Status of Jakarta regulates the establishment of monitoring councils at the mayoralty and subdistrict levels," Binsar said.

"The law also requires the councils to be established at the latest by February next year."

He said the councils would help the Jakarta administration to monitor the implementation of development programs in lower level administrations.

"The councils are intended to monitor and motivate development programs at their respective levels," said Binsar, while suggesting that members of the councils should be elected from among the neighborhoods' prominent residents.

"However, it is important to set a clear definition for 'prominent resident' to avoid a biased interpretation."

He also said the members should be elected in a personal capacity, not for their societal or political group association.

"The members should possess sound characteristics, so that they won't just become a rubber stamp for the mayor or the subdistrict head," he said.

Binsar said the City Council would prioritize establishing the councils at the subdistrict level.

"Initially, we were going to establish one bylaw to regulate the existence of both mayoralty-level and subdistrict-level councils," said Binsar.

"But a bylaw cannot regulate on two different matters. Therefore, we are concentrating on establishing the bylaw for subdistrict-level councils."

He acknowledged that there were no such councils in Indonesia to serve as prototypes.

"The City Council has to conduct a feasibility study abroad as Jakarta might be the only city here to have such councils," said Binsar.

"And no Asian countries have these councils. The City Council may have to turn to European or North American countries to obtain examples." (05)