Subdistricts, districts to get more funds
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
All 267 subdistrict offices and 44 district offices across the capital will receive funds to improve public services in their respective areas from the Jakarta administration next year.
Every subdistrict will receive Rp 1.7 billion, while each district will receive Rp 4 billion.
"The fund is meant to give them (subdistricts and districts) more leeway to solve their problems immediately and implement practical programs," head of personnel and administrative affairs with the City Planning Board (Bapeda), Nugraha K. Yasin, said at City Hall on Monday.
With the fund, he said, those offices could immediately repair damaged roads or develop community parks in their neighborhoods, for instance.
"In the near future, all development projects at subdistrict and district levels will be done by the respective subdistricts and districts, instead of city agencies," he added.
The public services fund is a follow-up program after this year the administration channeled Rp 1 billion to each of the 50 subdistricts and 12 districts as pilot projects.
The administration has not conducted an evaluation of the project.
He said the fund would be submitted directly to the subdistrict and district heads.
"But, of course, we will also give them guidelines on the use of the fund in order to avoid overlapping," he said.
Under the current arrangement, each subdistrict is required to submit proposals on various projects to improve their services to residents, including sanitation, community health, security and flood mitigation programs.
Previously, the city administration required subdistricts and districts to earmark at least 20 percent of the Subdistrict Residents Empowerment Scheme (PPMK), which ranged from Rp 850 million to Rp 1.6 billion, for public services.
The administration has earmarked Rp 267 billion in the PPMK fund for 50 subdistricts and 10 districts this year. The fund could be used to finance infrastructure development in the subdistricts, 20 percent, social assistance, 20 percent and empowerment of small entrepreneurs through a micro credit scheme, 60 percent.
"It seems we will cancel the 20 percent for development of infrastructure from the PPMK as the subdistricts will have the new fund for the infrastructure projects. But, we will maintain the fund for social assistance and micro credit given to small entrepreneurs," he asserted.
Observers have warned that giving the fund directly to subdistrict and district heads could lead to corruption without intensive monitoring and a transparent evaluation as the fund could be used by officials at subdistricts and districts to enrich themselves.
The City Regional Administration Bureau is in charge of monitoring the implementation of public services funds.
The bureau's head Agus Salim Utud could not immediately be reached for comment on Monday.
The administration is also looking into the possibility of assigning professional financial consultants to help subdistrict council members to manage the fund in a more transparent and accountable way.