T

he reason Jakartans have yet to enjoy smooth roads and a fully functioning drainage system to prevent widespread inundation is no longer a conundrum, as it turns out that the city administration, as of June, had only spent around 15 percent of its total budget.

During an evaluation on Wednesday, Governor Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo learned that 10 agencies, including those on housing, transportation, parks and cemeteries and public works, had incredibly low program-realization figures, having spent less than 5 percent of their respective budget funds by mid-year.

Speaking before senior officials at City Hall, Jokowi said he wanted his subordinates to enable, refocus and sustain the city'€™s programs, and to utilize all available funding to support his administration'€™s programs and overall target of spending 97 percent of the annual budget.

'€œBy June, fund usage is only at 15 percent on average. To all of you I say, be careful,'€ he warned.

He challenged the officials to execute their planned expenditures for the whole year, or return the funds so they could be used for other purposes.

Jokowi, however, said that those who failed to meet their targets would be severely punished; in some cases, even dismissed.

'€œThis is our gentlemen'€™s agreement,'€ he said.

The agency heads gave their reasons for their current failure, with ongoing tenders and unfinished land acquisitions being the primary holdups.

Housing and Administrative Buildings Agency head Yonathan Pasodung, who has funding of around Rp 1.03 trillion (US$104 million) for the construction of several low-cost public housing complexes for evicted squatters, said that most of his programs were impeded by the unavailability of land. He had only spent 2.18 percent of the agency'€™s total funds.

Meanwhile, Transportation Agency head Udar Pristono said that much of the Rp 2 trillion funds within the agency'€™s purview was pending bus tenders that were still ongoing. Most of the funds, however, would be spent, he said. As of June, Udar had spent only 4.04 percent of the total.

Jokowi urged the officials to report as soon as possible on any programs they thought could not be realized. All of the officials present approached the governor to discuss the issue, agreeing to the 97 percent target after various adjustments were made, which were noted down by Jokowi himself.

The governor is also planning to submit a proposal to the Jakarta Legislative Council for an additional budget of up to Rp 2 trillion during deliberations for the revised regional budget .

In January, the administration was given Rp 50 trillion, a 20.8 percent increase from last year'€™s Rp 41.4 trillion.

Deputy Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama said the additional funds would be allocated for the procurement of new garbage trucks, the acquisition of several private schools that were facing closure due to a shortage of funds, and the construction of low-cost apartments, river dredging programs and a face-lift of markets and slum areas.

To achieve his ambitious 97 percent target, Jokowi is maximizing the online procurement system and imposing strict control mechanisms. The figure is a sizable increase from the 85 percent achieved during former governor Fauzi Bowo'€™s tenure.