Protesters expose the misuse of Rp 109b aid

Protesters expose the misuse of Rp 109b aid

JAKARTA (JP): More than 500 people, including children,
elderly women and pedicab drivers, staged a street rally here on
Monday asking the government to postpone the disbursement of its
Rp 109.52 billion aid package to the capital's poor.

Organized by the Urban Poor Consortium (UPC), a
nongovernmental organization, the protesters, comprising poor
people from 10 subdistricts in the city, argued that the fund had
been misused by corrupt officials of the Village Resilience
Boards (LKMDs), the local bodies which have been given the right
to manage the fund.

Escorted by dozens of soldiers and police, the protesters
marched about one kilometer from the Hotel Indonesia traffic
circle in Central Jakarta to the office of the National
Development Planning Board (Bappenas) on Jl. Taman Suropati.

In an attempt to avoid traffic congestion, the protesters
walked single file, holding hands and using ropes to separate
themselves from the traffic on the street.

Some of the protesters carried statues, posters and banners
calling on officials not to misuse the fund.

"Don't cut the fund for the poor" and "People are starving
while LKMD holds meetings at Puncak" read some of the posters.
Puncak is the mountain resort area south of here.

No clashes were reported and the noisy protest ended
peacefully at 2 p.m., four hours after it began.

In a meeting with Bappenas' official Herman Haeruman, who is
in charge of the social safety net program, UPC coordinator
Wardah Hafidz said, "So far, the poor have no idea about the
fund. It's not transparent and does not reach the needy
residents."

Many LKMD officials have allocated portions of the fund to
their wives, relatives and local officials, such as community and
neighborhood chiefs, although they can not be categorized as poor
people, Wardah, who was accompanied by 14 other protesters during
the meeting, alleged.

Wardah also protested the city administration's decision to
use Rp 2.74 billion of the fund for "project management and
operation".

"The fund should be totally used for poor people since the
government allotted a separate fund of Rp 450 million to the city
administration for the operation of the project," she said.

The protesters also complained that the LKMDs did not follow
program guidelines, such as transparency and accountability in
the use and allocation of the funds.

The protesters, she said, were residents of the Kebon Kosong
and Kemayoran subdistricts in Central Jakarta; the Pademangan and
Pejagalan subdistricts in North Jakarta; the Jelambar and Kebon
Jeruk subdistricts in West Jakarta; Manggarai Selatan subdistrict
in South Jakarta; and the Rawa Terate, Pulogadung and Pondok
Kelapa subdistricts in East Jakarta.

Portions of the fund, which is aimed at helping the poor
overcome the current economic crisis, were disbursed last week to
some of the city's 265 subdistricts.

The fund is to be disbursed in all of the city's subdistricts.

In response to the protesters, Herman agreed to postpone the
disbursement of the fund to the 10 subdistricts represented by
the protesters until he had a chance to inspect the subdistricts
as requested by the demonstrators.

"I can not stop the disbursement of the fund to all of the
subdistricts in the city because it would be like punishing
everyone, even those who might not be guilty," he said, adding
that his office would send a team to investigate the protesters'
allegations.

Herman agreed to visit the 10 subdistricts on Saturday to
determine whether or not the funds in the areas, totaling Rp 3
billion, had been misused.

A city official said last week that 75 percent of the Rp 109
billion fund had been disbursed. (jun/ind)