JPS program should be redesigned: NGOs

JPS program should be redesigned: NGOs

JAKARTA (JP): Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) called on
the government on Tuesday to redesign the social safety net
program (JP).

The NGOs said poor planning and coordination caused the social
safety net program -- known by the local acronym JPS -- to not
only be inefficient but to fail to reach its intended targets.

They concluded that the underlying cause of the program's
ineffectiveness was a lack of detailed regulations for the
distribution of money, selection of recipients and assessment of
the program's effectiveness.

The conclusions were derived from recent field observations on
the implementation of JPS programs in Greater Jakarta, Central
Java, Yogyakarta and East Java conducted by at least seven local
NGOs.

One of the NGOs, Yayasan Bina Swadaya, which observed the JPS
program in some areas of Yogyakarta, suggested that the
government provide a more transparent procedure for the selection
of fund recipients, to avoid the potential for conflict within
communities.

"Seeds of conflict between community members emerged when some
people who did not receive the funds envied others who got the
money, claiming they should have been given the money because
they are poorer than others," said an activist of Bina Swadaya,
Sri Wahyuni.

Umi Pujihastuti of PINBUK said her organization found that a
great deal of the money allocated for areas in Bandung,
Tasiklamaya and Garut in West Java was not given to the people
most in need of assistance.

"That's because local authorities responsible for the
distribution of funds do not have complete, precise and up-to-
date data on poor families in the area eligible to receive the
funds," she said.

She said local authorities had relied on data of poor families
issued by state institutions, including the National Coordinating
Board for Family Planning Program, which was outdated did not
have information beyond the regency level.

Hariadi Darmawan of Yayasan Bina Swadaya said the government
should consider involving community groups in the social safety
net program.

"Because it is the local community itself that knows which
families among them need the money the most and what type of JPS
funds are needed in the area," he said.

In order to help poor people survive the prolonged economic
crisis, the government has since last year implemented various
JPS schemes, including Empowering Regions to Overcome the Impact
of the Economic Crisis, labor intensive programs, subsidized
rice, scholarships to keep children in school and health care
programs.

However, a lack of transparency and regulations for fund usage
and distribution made it easier for irresponsible officials to
use the money to benefit themselves and local authorities'
programs, said Hamka Candranaya of the Center for Society's
Participation foundation.

The Food for Poor People and Yayasan Amanah Ummat, both of
which observed the implementation of JPS programs in the greater
Jakarta area, suggested that the government apply a direct
monitoring system on the distribution of the funds to reduce the
risk of administrators manipulating the money.

They added that officials responsible for the management and
distribution of the funds, both at ministry and community level,
should be required to provide a complete report on the selection
of recipients and money distribution and usage. (cst)