Activists chime in on pro-poor budget

Tifa Asrianti ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 03/01/2008 12:37 PM  |  City

The pro-poor budgeting policy should focus on Jakarta residents' basic needs such as education, housing and employment, as stated in the Constitution and various regulations, activists say.

A constitutional amendment stipulates that the central and provincial governments should allocate 20 percent of budgets for education.

"If the Jakarta administration wants to make the budget pro-poor, they can start with education," Andik Hardiyanto, pro-poor budget program manager at the Institute of Research, Education and Information for Social and Economic Affairs (LP3ES), told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

TIFA Foundation local government program officer Dedi Haryadi said the city should focus on free healthcare and education to start its pro-poor budget policy.

"However, neither the executives or legislators have agreed on a pro-poor budget policy. There are only a few people concerned about this issue," Dedi said, after attending a seminar about "Pro-Poor Budget Policy in the Context of Fiscal Decentralization: Lessons, Ideas and New Initiatives from Civil Society".

"The city budget should allocate a special post for poverty alleviation, instead of focusing on construction projects. They need to set priorities," Andik said.

He suggested access to clean water and opportunities for people to earn decent livings as examples of such priorities.

"The administration should make a legal basis that allows people to work freely. Instead of evicting the street vendors, they should provide vendors with a place to work," Andik said.

"The idea of a pro-poor budget should be stipulated in bylaws and regional development plans, so it can be maintained even when the regional head changes," he said.

A pro-poor budget policy has allowed low-income people in Jembrana regency, Bali, to enjoy improvements in the local economy and poverty alleviation, an official said Friday.

Gede Gunadnya, head of Jembrana Development Planning Board, said the number of poor families decreased and per capita income rose after his administration applied a pro-poor budget.

"In 2007, the administration recorded some 6,500 poor families, and only around 4,200 could be empowered. In 2008, the number has dropped significantly to around 5,400, with around 4,400 families that could be empowered," he said.

Per capita income increased from Rp 7.4 million (around US$820) in 2005 to Rp 7.8 million in 2006 and Rp 8.4 million in 2007, he said.

The Bali regency has applied pro-poor budgeting principles since 2001, allowing its poorer residents access to free healthcare and education for students in elementary and junior high schools.

"Jembrana has only around Rp 14 billion for its regency budget, and the free healthcare and education program costs around Rp 8 billion," Gede said.

"We have committed to fulfilling people's basic rights. For the pro-poor budget we just needed commitment, not a big budget," Gede said.

To make the budget efficient, Gede said, his administration decided to cut its number of agencies from 14 to seven.

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