Jakarta's problems

Keeping down the rate of urbanization has become something of a utopian vision for Jakarta because conditions, both in this country's rural areas and in the capital itself, encourage such a movement of people. Hope for a change will only become a reality when there has been a reduction in the gap in prosperity between the rural areas and the big cities.

Giving autonomy to the regions could spread our economic growth centers over wider areas and thereby stem the flow of urbanization in the cities. In the coming months, the Jakarta city administration will be facing the increasingly difficult task of looking after its people on a very limited budget and in a situation in which this country's political stability is still in doubt.

The best the city administration can do for the moment is to give more attention to the development of microeconomic sectors. The good sense of our city administrators plus the support of our experts and the public at large would be most welcome in this context. Jakarta does not have much choice.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta