Local govt reform key to recovery from conflict in Ambon

Local govt reform key to recovery from conflict in Ambon

Edi Suhardi, Partnership for Governance Reform in Indonesia,
Jakarta

When the horrifying sectarian conflict broke out in 1999, no
one believed it could happen in the capital of Maluku province
long known as Ambon manise, or Sweet Ambon. Ambon was at the
center of the communal conflict that affected almost the entire
province until 2002.

In the provinces of Maluku and North Maluku, the cost of the
conflict was meted out in a devastating humanitarian crisis, both
in terms of the loss of lives and the negative social impact on
the already impoverished region.

Public services have collapsed, tens of thousand of homes have
been burned down or severely damaged, and more than 8,000 people
have died as a result of the conflict. Basic services, such as
health and education, are not functioning. The community became
segregated and partisanship flourished. More than half the
population became internally displaced.

All companies operating in Maluku abandoned Ambon, causing
unemployment levels to reach 45.49 percent. Negative economic
growth caused the economy to plunge from 7.33 percent in 1998 to
minus 7.76 percent in 2001, and the percentage of the population
living below the poverty line rose to 38.01 percent by the end of
2001, from only 10.36 percent in 1998.

Public services descended into an abysmal state, in which the
bureaucrats were segregated by religious and ethnic groupings.
Many officials left and decided not to return to Ambon. Public
services were minimal, especially from 1999 to 2001 -- effective
working hours stood at one to two hours per day, three to four
days a week.

Dysfunctional public services and widespread corruption,
collusion and nepotism led to the loss of public trust in the
government. The conflict was further exacerbated by the absence
of law enforcers -- police personnel, public prosecutors,
attorneys and judges -- who had abandoned Ambon.

The situation and condition in Ambon from 1999 to mid-2002
reflected features of a "weak state" according to the scholar
Kalevi J. Holsti. His assessment of whether a state is strong or
weak is not measured by the state's monopoly of violence, but by
levels of legitimacy. Weak states, he writes, are those states
unable to sustain domestic legitimacy and peace.

M.J. Papilaja, the new Ambon mayor since August 2001, launched
what seemed a mission impossible, as he pursued his political
commitment to reform and introduced a strategic plan for recovery
and reform. Included in his plan were social stability, public
security, human resource development, reactivation of the
economy, and democratization and revitalization of traditional
values.

The reform effort has regained the trust of stakeholders in
the local government, and the improved stakeholder relations have
led to the ebbing of communal conflicts at all levels.

More harmonious relations among different groups are
developing with the removal of obstacles to communication. This
new situation has enhanced public trust in the local government,
and enhanced the participation of civil society and stakeholders
in the formulation of regional ordinances.

The reform program focuses on local policy reform, including
the introduction of transparent and accountable financial
management, and the institutionalization of public participation
in a multi-stakeholders forum, from the community to the
municipal level. This initiative also serves as a vehicle to
balance the power and interaction between the government, civil
society and the newly revived small-scale entrepreneurs; its
approach includes strengthening civil society, improving public
services and partnership building.

The Ambon municipality has been working with a number of
organizations, including the non-governmental organization,
Partnership for Governance Reform in Indonesia, to carry out an
integrated governance reform program aiming at building trust and
achieving the revitalization of public services.

Improvements are visible within the civil service, as well as
in public service delivery. Internal improvements include a
gradual change toward a merit-based civil service recruitment
system, i.e. and the implementation of the international public
sector accounting system (IPSAS).

Public service delivery is improving with the commitment of
district and village heads, who have become increasingly active
in community consultation and in addressing societal issues.

The IPSAS has resulted in improved financial efficiency as
shown in the municipality's Rp 17.6 billion (US$2.08 million)
budget surplus in 2002. This surplus has been used to provide
incentives for government officials, and to provide assistance to
450 refugee households at Rp 10 million each.

Improvements in the stability of socio-economic and business
activities are visible in the lower inflation rate of 9.47
percent in 2002, from 14.12 percent in 2001. The number of
families living under the poverty line has fallen from 17,330
families in 2001 to 13,956 families in 2002, while economic
growth has increased to positive 3.1 percent in 2002, from
negative 7.7 percent in 2001.

Ambon has been capitalizing on a decentralization framework to
resolve the communal conflict successfully, by addressing
inequality and poor governance previously embedded in the local
authority.

Governance reform is seen as the road to conflict recovery in
Ambon, and successful reform has been attributed to a committed
pro-reform leadership and consensus building efforts. The
collaborative reform project has helped rebuild trust, restart
public services and improved government accountability and its
capacity to deliver. All of these results have led to the
establishment of peace in Ambon.

The state of civilian emergency for Maluku province was lifted
recently -- a decision taken because peace has returned to the
province and all security-related issues have been conducive.

Economic activities are returning to normal, the markets are
open again, filled with traders and buyers of different religions
and ethnicities, and three domestic carriers have resumed flights
connecting Ambon with other major cities in Indonesia.

True, differences in social class, religious belief, ideology
and ethnicity will inevitably fuel social conflicts. However,
learning from the experience of Ambon, the conflicts in Nanggroe
Aceh Darussalam and Papua have many options for a peaceful
resolution, if total reform is implemented. The conflicts in
those areas mainly stem from poor governance and inequality.

As we have learned from Ambon, we know that the road to
conflict recovery depends on the political will and commitment of
both the central and local governments.