Lack of info on safety net fund

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.