Rp 800m provided to slum program

JAKARTA (JP): The city administration and the Ministry of Social Affairs handed over a donation totaling Rp 800 million (US$100,000) to all five Jakarta mayoralties yesterday to help continue the city's slum rehabilitation program.

The funds were received by representatives of the mayoralties in a ceremony led by Governor Sutiyoso.

In his speech, the governor expressed hope that the donation could help the mayoralties' programs in rehabilitating slum areas and developing more decent homes.

"I know that with the current monetary condition, the amount donated to you today may not be enough," Sutiyoso said.

"But the most important thing is to make the best use of the funds available," he added.

Out of the total fund, Rp 550 million was donated by the city administration and the remaining Rp 250 million from the Ministry of Social Affairs.

The first Rp 300 million from the municipality were distributed equally to the three mayoralties of Central, North and West Jakarta. The remaining Rp 250 million were shared by the South and East Jakarta mayoralties.

The Ministry of Social Affairs' funds were split equally between the South and East Jakarta mayoralties.

The city's slum rejuvenation program covers at least 275 slum areas here.

Out of the five mayoralties, East Jakarta ranks first in terms of slum areas. According to the city's survey, there are at least 73 areas considered as slums in the mayoralty, including in Cakung, Rawaterate, Pulo Gadung, Matraman, Jatinegara, Duren Sawit, Pasar Rebo and Ciracas.

South Jakarta's 42 slum spots include those in Bukit Duri, Tebet and Pasar Minggu.

The funds, Sutiyoso said, should be made available to needy residents, particularly those who need help in rehabilitating their homes.

According to Sutiyoso, the Rp 800 million fund would be presented later to owners of 1,195 houses in slum areas which would help them to renovate their homes.

Each house owner would receive between Rp 700,000 and Rp 750,000, he said.

The city's slum rehabilitation program has generally been carried out in three forms -- slum eradication, kampong rehabilitation and a combination of the two -- in a bid to create better housing for Jakartans.

The eradication of slum areas has aimed to convert former plots into cheap apartments. The slum rehabilitation program has aimed to improve the quality of the environment without evicting residents, while the combination plan has built apartments based on the social class of the prospective inhabitants.

"I believe if the fund could be used efficiently, low-income people living in slums would be given a chance to live a better life," the governor said.

Critics

Meanwhile, some councilors criticized the way the money was to be used, saying that giving such limited funds to households in slum areas would be ineffective.

City councilor Djafar Badjeber, head of Commission B for Economic Affairs said yesterday the municipality must change its approach in rehabilitating the city's slum areas.

"The amount to be donated to the residents is too small compared to what they really need. I, therefore, suggest the municipality allocate the funds to building more low-cost apartments which I think would be more effective," he said.

Djafar said the amount to be donated was too small and therefore would not make a lot of difference for the people.

"What could you do nowadays with Rp 700,000 if you had to renovate a house? The price of building materials is already skyrocketing." he said.

"I'm not saying that the program is a total failure. Not at all. I just think that it would be wise to allocate the money to a more effective housing program," he said.

Councilor Lukman Mokoginta shared Djafar's opinion, saying that the donation from the city administration was far from enough.

"It's only Rp 160 million for each mayoralty. How can such a small amount be effective for such a big project?" Lukman questioned.

He said that such projects needed billions of rupiah and that the funds might be adequate for small projects in community neighborhoods, but not for big areas such as mayoralties.

"I have no idea how construction work can be done with such a small donation. It's far from enough," he said.

However, he said, the fund was still a necessity for people in the slum areas during such a monetary crisis, otherwise it could cause other social problems in which the city might be forced to spend a greater amount of funds. (edt/ind)