City councilors criticized administration underperformance as it missed its targets in dealing with transportation woes and flooding during the rainy season.
Councilor Rois Hadayana Syaugie of Commission D overseeing public works, said the condition of many areas prone to flooding remained the same when the city encountered rain last year.
“These areas have not been handled well,” he told The Jakarta Post.
To his disappointment, the city did not respond to his suggestion to allocate part of the budget to educate residents on the danger of littering.
“There is no allocation for an educational program for residents. The 2010 budget for flood mitigation focuses on the drainage repair program, river dredging and maintenance of the water pump,” Rois said.
The most obvious achievement, he said, was connecting the East Flood Canal (BKT) to the sea.
“Although its not great, the administration and central government have showed commitment,” he said.
City spokesman Cucu Ahmad Kurnia turned down the opinion, saying the city was prepared to face flooding during the rainy season, but resident littering hampered efforts.
“The equipment is available, but it is not working well because there is garbage mounting [on the drainage system]. People are not aware environmentally aware,” he told the Post. He said the city had done its best to deal with floods by raising water pump capacity, dredging a number of small rivers and concentrating on the BKT.
“This year, we will dredge macro rivers using World Bank funds,” he said.
Meanwhile, Councilor S. Andyka of Commission B overseeing city assets, said the administration was not doing enough to tackle the transport issue. He said the administration must create more effective routes. “The construction of the busway lanes corridor 9 and 10 finished one year ago, but the buses are not available, leaving lanes and shelters unused and damaged,” he said.
Corridor 9 connects Pinang Ranti, East Jakarta, and Pluit, North Jakarta. Corridor 10, links Cililitan, East Jakarta, to Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta.
