Lack of info on safety net fund

The social safety net fund, with the support of multilateral loans, is designed to help people start helping themselves during the economic crisis. Following demands to postpone further disbursement of the fund because of a lack of transparency in the process, the government pledged better distribution and supervision. The Jakarta Post correspondent Agus Maryono went to one neighborhood in Central Java last month to see how the fund was being implemented by officials and how the fund was affecting residents.

PURWOKERTO, Central Java (JP): A villager in the Kedungwuluh subdistrict in Banyumas, West Purwokerto, looked very happy to hear that he was among the recipients of the social safety net fund in his village. Sarman (not his real name) was told by the neighborhood chief that he would get Rp 50,000 (about US$5.60).

"Because I'm in the bird business, I'll buy a bird," he told The Jakarta Post recently. "But I don't know what kind of bird because it's only Rp 50,000."

However, when Sarman signed the receipt for the money he was surprised to see that he was receiving only Rp 45,000 instead of the Rp 50,000 stated on the receipt.

"But I signed anyway because the deducted Rp 5,000 was said to be for administrative costs."

Sarman is supposed to pay back the money in monthly installments of Rp 10,000. However, he says, "Well, people say it's okay if we don't give the money back. If I can I will, if not, what can I do?"

Efforts to trace the fund from the neighborhood level up to the regional level reveal a lack of information among recipients of the fund and those entrusted with the fund's distribution.

The project chief of the social safety extension program in Banyumas, Djoko Wikanto, explained the money was repaid at the village level, not the state level.

Another issue which is unclear is the deductions in the money received by participants in the program. While Sarman was told the missing Rp 5,000 was for administrative costs, the neighborhood chief told the Post that this money would be "circulated to other villagers".

The head of the neighborhood cluster, Karsim, said distribution of the fund was up to neighborhoods. The aid for Kedungwuluh was part of Rp 1.79 million destined for six neighborhoods.

All administrative costs are included in the money from the state treasury, but a researcher looking into the social safety net fund said further cuts at the levels of the neighborhood cluster and the neighborhood were allowed -- but only with the consensus of residents.

The chairman of the Community Resilience Institution in the area, Suhadi, told The Jakarta Post he received Rp 22.37 million for Banyumas. The institution comprises formal and informal leaders and is entrusted with the management of the social safety net fund in most areas.

Suhadi said the fund included operational costs for the village, which were Rp 1.75 million, and fees for facilitators, which reached Rp 750,000 for around four months.

He added that one person was employed as a facilitator, his younger sibling. Employing a family member as a facilitator is not a problem unless villagers are not consulted; the guideline for the social safety net fund states that facilitators must be approved by residents.

Djoko said the money from the social safety net fund was intended for the needy and that it was not necessary to repay it.

"The disbursement and method of repaying the money are up to the villages. The principle is that residents should not be burdened."

Residents, including Sarman, are not aware of this. Sarman's neighbor Titien said, "I'd sooner join the village cooperative." She heard that while Sarman and the others signed a receipt for Rp 50,000 and received only Rp 45,000, they would still be required to repay Rp 50,000.

For the Banyumas region, Djoko said the social safety net extension program reached Rp 10.56 billion, which included Rp 200 million for operational costs and Rp 490 million for management consultants across 27 districts.

In Kedungwuluh village, Karsim said he did not receive money for operational costs, so from the Rp 1.79 million intended for six neighborhoods he deducted Rp 110,000.

Residents were left with a some thousands of rupiah per person to try to start a business. The cuts were largely justified, except for those which had not been approved by residents.

In Kedungwuluh, Sarman said he had eventually given up trying to buy a bird with his Rp 45,000.

Dodo, a researcher at the Jakarta-based Social Monitoring and Early Response institution, said while Rp 45,000 was not a lot, in other areas residents only received Rp 29,000.

"This is because the funds are distributed to a group, say, of 10 people," he said. The people can then work together to set up a small business. This has proven successful in a few areas, he said.

Again, Sarman did not know about this. Instead of buying a bird, Sarman bought a badminton racket, but he did not say whether the purchase could be the beginning of a business. At least his child can play with it, he said.