Rp 50 billion funding for poor 'vulnerable to corruption'

JAKARTA (JP): The city administration's plan to grant Rp 50 billion (US$4.5 million) to 25 poor subdistricts could be easily misappropriated because of a lack of clarity in its program and insufficient control, an activist and residents said on Monday.

Interviewed separately by The Jakarta Post, the Urban Poor Consortium (UPC) coordinator Wardah Hafidz and residents of two community units (RW) of Menteng subdistricts, Central Jakarta, said they doubted the whole fund would safely reach the target.

"It's very easy for the funds to be embezzled by subdistrict chiefs and community unit' chiefs," Wardah remarked.

She predicted that the chiefs would misuse the funds by creating unclear programs since the city administration allowed the subdistricts to decide the programs themselves.

She said some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) which would be assigned to monitor the implementation of the program, had no credibility or ability to do so.

"They are 'red-plated' NGOs," said Wardah, referring to the term used for progovernment NGOs.

"They would probably only take advantage of the program," Wardah, whose UPC is a member of NGOs Coalition for Budget Transparency (KOTA), added.

Asked about the involvement of KOTA member, the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra), Wardah said Fitra should quit the monitoring program or leave KOTA.

"We have asked Fitra to chose whether to be involved in the scheme or stay with us," she said.

The city administration earlier announced that it would disburse Rp 2 billion for each of the 25 subdistricts in the program called the Subdistrict Community Empowerment Program.

It plans to involve several NGOs, including Fitra, which is led by sociologist La Ode Ida, in monitoring the program.

Wardah believed that the administration was attempting to shift public attention from the confusion over the city budget spending to the program for the poor.

"Sutiyoso tried to bribe the poor by giving them the fund so that the public would no longer question the budget," she said.

She said the total of Rp 2 billion allocated for each subdistrict which is home to thousands of poor residents, was too small when compared to the Rp 8 billion allocated for City Governor Sutiyoso's facilities, such as his clothes.

Wardah suggested that the fund should not be disbursed until the program target and control mechanism were clear in order to avoid further problems.

"We will continue to question the program since the fund was taken from the city budget," she said.

Meanwhile, residents urged the city administration to closely monitor the use of the fund.

Rohana, a drink vendor, on Jl. Menteng Jaya, revealed that the Menteng subdistrict once received a similar fund from the city government. She said that in the past two years the fund which was supposed to be used to build community public facilities was misused by the RW chief.

"Residents protested and the RW chief was then replaced," she said.

Rohana lives in RW 08, one of two poor neighboring community units in Menteng subdistrict.

She hoped the fund that was allocated for her RW could be used to build public facilities such as toilets and an RW office, and underlined the need to involve local unemployed youth in the project.

Another resident, Agus, agreed with Rohana, saying the youths' involvement in the project would help them to avoid brawling.

"Many of the youths are often involved in brawls because they don't have any job," Agus, a resident of RW 09, said.

The two poor RW units which are separated by a railway track consist of 16 neighborhood units each with a population reaching into the thousands.

Most of the residents live in wooden houses with poor sanitation. Many of the house were burned when the residents were involved in a massive brawl two years ago.

Some of the residents work as night guards in entertainment centers in downtown Kota, West Jakarta, while others work as small-scale traders.

Rohana said many people might associate the Menteng area with luxurious houses, such as the one belonging to former President Soeharto on Jl. Cendana, which is still in the same subdistrict.

"Yeah, people probably think that all Menteng residents are rich people. The majority of us are poor people," she laughed bitterly. (jun)