Safety net program not running well

JAKARTA (JP): The country's multibillion dollar social safety net program has not run well because of the overcautiousness of government officials in distributing the aid, according to the government-sponsored social safety net monitoring task force.

The chairman of the monitoring team, Mar'ie Muhammad, said on Wednesday that the change of the aid disbursement mechanism in September from a centralized system to a block grant system in which the provincial administration was given greater management responsibility over the aid caused a slow down in disbursement.

"The officials are too careful and are afraid of making mistakes. Their priority is safety first. They don't want to go on the offensive, but would rather stay back on defense. They're playing negative football," he told journalists at a media briefing detailing the monitoring team's responsibilities.

"Changing this attitude takes time. But we expect officials can adapt to the new changes," he added.

The monitoring team was established last year under a presidential decree following news reports that World Bank assistance to the country had been diverted by government officials.

The social safety net program is designed to help the country's poor survive the current economic crisis. The multibillion dollar program is funded by foreign donors led by the World Bank.

At least Rp 17.79 trillion had been allocated for the program in the 1998/1999 state budget ending in March.

The deputy chairman of the monitoring team, Gunawan Sumodiningrat, said only about 30 percent of the aid package had been disbursed so far.

However, he said that the monitoring team had not found any occurrences of graft in the aid program.

"We have not discovered any misuse of funds in the program, but the disbursement and utilization rate is very low," he said.

He explained that changing the attitude of provincial government officials who were used to a centralized system would take time.

He also stated that the low utilization rate was due in particular to the inability of officials and residents in the districts and villages to decide what their needs were.

"The aid will only be disbursed if the people are ready (with a proposal) so that it will be clear where the money will go and how much money will be needed. We don't want any overspending," he said.

Gunawan said that the aid disbursement mechanism was changed to the block grant system to provide greater flexibility for the social safety net program. The centralized system of the past was too bureaucratic and more prone to abuse.

In addition to the change in the system of disbursement, the goals of the program have also been expanded from creating jobs and providing food to also include social protection and developing small and medium-scale businesses.

He said that any social safety net funds not utilized during the current fiscal year ending in March would be extended until June 1999.

He added that the budget for the social safety net program in the 1999/2000 fiscal year would likely to be around Rp 20 trillion.

Asked to comment on calls for the government to temporarily halt the social safety net program two months before the June 1999 general election, Mar'ie said, "The task force is not involved in politics and it is not our responsibility (to stop the program)."

Several opposition leaders called for the temporary halt because of worries that the social safety net program could be abused by President B.J. Habibie's administration to boost its popularity ahead of the election.

"Although I share their concern, I'm not sure what would happen if the program was to stop (temporarily). This needs a deeper evaluation," he said. (rei)