Subdistricts, districts to get more funds
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.