Rp 800m provided to slum program

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)