NGOs, local govts to get bulk of CGI grants

Local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and local administrations will get the bulk of the grants and technical assistance facilities worth US$400 million that were pledged by foreign donors Wednesday.

Office of the Coordinating Minister for the Economy spokesman Mahendra Siregar told The Jakarta Post on Thursday that the facilities would be used to promote good governance, foster judicial reform and improve human resources.

He said detailed activities would include training, research, and surveys carried out in support of the above objectives.

"We expect that the aid can help encourage the wide-ranging economic and political reforms that are currently underway," said Mahendra.

The country's traditional donors grouped in the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI) promised to provide the country with some $2.7 billion in fresh loans. But on top of that, the donors also agreed to provide grants and technical assistance facilities.

The amount of the grants and technical assistance for 2003 was lower than in 2001, when the figure reached $586 million.

Most of the 2001 grants were disbursed to finance the campaign for the protection of natural forests, to improve the legal and judicial system, poverty reduction studies and training, the anticorruption campaign, and to improve the skills and professionalism of public servants in the regions, which had just been granted autonomy by the central government.

Mahendra said that the facilities would be directly disbursed to the relevant NGOs and local governments without the intervention of the central government. --JP