Papua has yet to receive Rp 1.3t project fund

Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura, Papua

Two months after the proposal were submitted for the funding of 848 infrastructure projects, the Papuan provincial administration still has not received the disbursement of the Rp 1.3 trillion (US$158.6 billion) funds from the central government.

The provincial administration secretary Decky Asmuruf said on Thursday that the problem was because the Home Minister Hari Sabarno had yet to approve the provincial budget for the fiscal year 2003.

"Since the budget has yet to be approved by the minister, it could be one of the considerations for the ministry of finance not to disburse the funds," he said, saying that according to the Autonomy Law, Papua was legally entitled to 2 percent of the general allocation funds (DAU) from the national budget.

The procedure to disburse the funds was detailed in the letter No. 18/2003 signed by the minister of finance and the home minister. The letter states that the ministry of finance is to disburse the money after receiving a recommendation from the ministry of home affairs.

The Rp 1.3 trillion is half of Rp 2.6 trillion the Papuan administration has allocated to finance development projects that need to be completed this fiscal year.

The central government's assistance will be used mostly for projects designed to improve transportation infrastructure, education, social welfare and agriculture in the province.

The rest of the development budget will be financed out of provincial revenue, and will be used to finance 720 projects, mostly for education, health and poverty eradication.

Last year Papua received only Rp 851 million for its development budget from the central government, with the rest of Rp 1.25 trillion budget raised from its own revenue sources.

However, executive director of the Institute for Civil Empowerment (ICS) Budi Setianto alleged that the stalled disbursement was due to the central government's assessment of the Papuan administration which he claimed was failing to care for the people's needs.

"Most of the projects were merely expedited in such a fashion so as to spend the money so the local administration would be considered capable in managing their funds. Reality says that none of the projects really help locals," he said.

"The central government needs to evaluate the projects which are proposed, both by the provincial administration and the legislative council, and decide if they really benefit local residents or would just be for provincial political elites own purposes, before any money is disbursed."