Protest over misuse of emergency funds goes on

Protest over misuse of emergency funds goes on

JAKARTA (JP): An executive from the United Development Party
(PPP) complained on Friday that unless a person was directly
linked to the ruling Golkar or close to the city administration,
they would likely be excluded from the disbursement of an
emergency fund amounting to over Rp 109 billion.

Djafar Badjeber, head of PPP's Jakarta chapter, said that PPP
party members who were eligible for the fund had difficulties
receiving any of the disbursed aid.

"We find that there are still political disparities in the
distribution of the aid. It is just one of so many forms of
misuse of the fund," he said.

He said continued mismanagement was feared because executives
of the Village Resilience Boards (LKMD) responsible for
channeling the fund to the people were Golkar members or closely
linked to the local government.

Djafar said that such mismanagement virtually ensured that the
program would fail to empower poor people severely affected by
the economic crisis.

"Even though the authorities urge local community members to
help control the program, our party members find it difficult
even to get data on the program," he said.

From the fund, Rp 106.7 billion will be disbursed directly to
265 LKMDs throughout the city under the National Development
Planning Board's (Bappenas) program, designed to help people cope
with the worst impacts of the economic crisis.

Criticism of the equity and transparency of the aid
distribution has been aired by several parties, including city
councilors and nongovernmental organizations.

Most critics warn of the misuse of the fund because there are
no clear controls to ensure the disbursed aid reaches the people
who need it.

Meanwhile, the Urban Poor Consortium (UPC) urged the
government on Friday to postpone the disbursement of the
remaining 30 percent, about Rp 32.8 billion, of the fund pending
the establishment of clear-cut guideline on its utilization.

UPC coordinator Wardah Hafidz said the 70 percent of the fund
which had already been disbursed was believed to have been
misused by LKMD officials.

"To avoid more corruption, we demand that the government
postpone the disbursement of the remaining aid until the next
fiscal year," Wardah said.

She suggested that the government redesign the aid program by
involving more nongovernmental organizations in the disbursement
process.

Based on visits by Bappenas officials to 10 subdistricts in
the city, UPC discovered several abuses in the utilization of the
fund, she said.

In Kebon Kosong subdistrict, Central Jakarta, for example,
LKMD officials allocated portions of the fund to their wives,
relatives and local officials, including community and
neighborhood chiefs, although the fund was designed to aid the
poor.

She also said that in the Manggarai Selatan subdistrict, South
Jakarta, some of the fund was reportedly used to finance the
renovation of 24 small mosques, although there were actually only
20 small mosques in the subdistrict.

In Kampung Rawa, Pondok Kelapa subdistrict, parts of the fund
supposedly were used to build a security post, although the post
had been built through the financial support of local residents
before the aid package was disbursed, she said.

According to Wardah, the alleged misuse and misallocation of
the fund created jealousy among residents. "The misuse could
create anger among the poor people who really deserve and need
the fund."

She also said the fund requirement that recipients have
permanent houses is unfair because most of the people who have
permanent houses in the city are rich.

She also said that 70 percent of the city's poor only had
temporary identification cards, even if they already had lived
here for over 10 years.

Among those who did not possess identification cards were
thousands of residents who were evicted from their land during
the 1990s to make room for development projects, she said.

"Even if they have their ID cards, they can't receive the fund
because they are judged as living illegally on state-owned land
since their evictions," she said.

As an example, she cited 545 poor families in the Kampung Rawa
area of the Kebon Jeruk subdistrict who were declared ineligible
for the fund because they continued to live on state-owned land
after they were evicted in 1992.

According to Wardah, Bappenas officials said that they would
discuss further the alleged misuse of the fund.

She suggested that in the future the fund be managed by
community groups and religious organizations, such as Nahdlatul
Ulama and Muhammadiyah, instead of government-appointed
officials.

On Feb. 1, more than 500 poor people from 10 subdistricts in
the city staged a demonstration in front of the Bappenas building
on Jl. Taman Suropati in Central Jakarta, to protest the misuse
of the fund. (jun/ind)