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View all search resultsJakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo and his deputy Prijanto have made no notable improvements regarding urban poverty, environment or transportation during their first year in office, NGO representatives said Wednesday
akarta Governor Fauzi Bowo and his deputy Prijanto have made no notable improvements regarding urban poverty, environment or transportation during their first year in office, NGO representatives said Wednesday.
Wardah Hafidz, chair of Urban Poor Consortium (UPC), said Fauzi resembled the governor who preceded him.
"He's a second Sutiyoso. Fauzi is not on the side of poor people. There have been many evictions in the city, not to mention the upcoming sweep, Operasi Yustisi (operation justice), which aims to flush out newcomers without proper documents," Wardah told The Jakarta Post.
"I used to have high hopes for Fauzi when he was first elected because he seemed to be an easy person who likes to engage in dialogue, but I was wrong. It's really hard to get access to him. There's too much bureaucracy," she said.
The head of Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation, Asfinawati, shared a similar view.
"After one year in office, we count four evictions: Flower and fish vendors in Barito (South Jakarta), ceramics vendors in Rawasari (East Jakarta), residents in BMW Park (North Jakarta) and again residents in Pulomas (East Jakarta)," Asfinawati said.
Fauzi, elected Oct. 8 last year, had set out a 100-day action plan which ended Jan. 15 this year.
It laid out 19 areas ranging from the reduction of traffic snarls caused by busway construction, to the development of the monorail project, flood mitigation and providing better public facilities for the disabled.
As of today, the plan has not led to significant results.
Head of the Indonesian Transportation Society, Darmaningtyas, said transportation developments were stagnating.
"I see some setbacks in Fauzi's leadership. Transjakarta buses for corridor 8, 9 and 10, set to launch in Sept. 2007, have not rolled out yet," Darmaningtyas said.
He said the city should optimize current public transportation instead of establishing new facilities like motorcycle lanes.
"It should upgrade public transportation to provide better and proper service. It should also put in place intermodal transportation to move passengers from busway to rail, for example," he said.
On the environmental front, Selamet Daroyni from the Jakarta chapter of Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) said Fauzi had failed in flood prevention.
"The floods that inundated the Soekarno-Hatta airport last year were bad. He should have anticipated them by providing more space for mangroves, for instance," said Selamet.
He did, however, give Fauzi credit for trying to reduce air pollution in the city through its Car-Free Day program.
"The program is good, but sometimes it causes congestion and higher pollution levels along other roads," he said.
"I also support his program for expanding green areas in the capital. But I disagree if he does so by evicting poor people living in slum areas.
"If he can evict these people, then he could be stricter in dispensing permits to business people who want to build more malls or apartments. The city doesn't need any more of those."
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