Scroll of Honor for Jakarta

Scroll of Honor for Jakarta

We refer to the article Activists slam habitat award for
Jakarta, published in The Jakarta Post on Oct. 4.

The city of Jakarta is a megacity with more than 10 million
inhabitants. About 20 percent, or two million, are living in
kampongs or slums. It is clear that many challenges remain ahead,
but the city has made significant improvements.

UN-HABITAT recognizes the progress that has been made so far
and is helping to address the areas that need to be improved,
such as strengthening the people's process, through our
collaboration with the central government, provincial governments
and civil society organizations in Indonesia.

As you may be aware, UN-HABITAT currently has projects of some
US$25 million under the post-tsunami reconstruction, targeting
the most vulnerable households. Further, on World Habitat Day on
Oct. 3, we signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry
of Public Works, the Ministry of the People's Housing and the
Association of Provincial Governments to provide a framework for
introducing the Slum Upgrading Facility in Indonesia. This
facility is aimed at mobilizing capital to provide affordable
housing and better infrastructure for the urban poor.

It is in this context that UN-HABITAT awarded the municipality
of Jakarta the Scroll of Honor to recognize the progress that has
been made and to lay the foundation for further improvements in
building an inclusive city.

JANE NYAKAIRU
Chief, Information Services Section
Office of the Executive Director, UN-HABITAT
Nairobi