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New leaders get to the core of the city's woes
During the 2012 Jakarta gubernatorial election campaign, then governor candidate Joko âJokowiâ Widodo and his running mate Basuki âAhokâ Tjahaja Purnama promised to put an end to several of the capitalâs unresolved issues
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uring the 2012 Jakarta gubernatorial election campaign, then governor candidate Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo and his running mate Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama promised to put an end to several of the capital's unresolved issues.
Out of the 19 campaign promises they mentioned, seven focused on key issues, including the procurement of 1,000 new Transjakarta buses to provide proper public transportation, moving street vendors inside market buildings to address traffic chaos, performing transparent and corruption-free governance and moving squatters on river and reservoir banks to low-cost apartments.
Jokowi and Ahok revealed even more grandiose ideas when they got in office, raising skepticism and criticism from politicians and observers.
The skepticism was not unfounded: no administration has been able to resolve the mess in Tanah Abang market in Central Jakarta, for example. But it was part of Jokowi-Ahok's program and it was their litmus test to prove otherwise.
The administration relocated 700 street vendors ' who used to invade Jl. Jati Baru ' to the nearby Blok G building in fuss-free manner, ceasing traffic congestion in Southeast Asia's biggest textile market, in September.
The top priority of the city's programs, however, directly affects the welfare of the residents in the low-income bracket.
In November last year, Jokowi-Ahok launched a Rp 1.2 trillion (US$107.88 million) healthcare scheme ' dubbed Jakarta Health Card (KJS) ' for its citizens.
The program was designed to support 4.7 million Jakarta residents with free health services. By October, two million people had received the health card.
It was not without its flaws. Some hurdles occurred after the launch, including when overwhelmed hospitals denied admission to an ailing child due to a lack of equipment. However, Jokowi managed to make some adjustments and the program went ahead.
The World Health Organization (WHO) praised the program and examined it as to whether it could be implemented in other provinces in the country.
In December 2012, taking more action than the central government that has funded schools through School Operational Assistance (BOS) scheme, the administration launched additional financial aid for underprivileged students, called the Jakarta Smart Card (KJP).
The KJP, one of Jokowi and Ahok's campaign promises and Jokowi's old program when he was a mayor in Surakarta, Central Java, targeted fulfilling students' personal needs like uniforms, books and transportation.
The program, which took 25 percent of the total budget of Rp 49.9 trillion, or Rp 12.5 trillion, ran smoothly.
Jakarta Education Agency deputy chief Agus Suradika said on Tuesday that his agency had distributed 292,142 cards to the students as of June and was distributing another 410,767 for the period of July to December.
The only issue that taints the program is the monitoring of the aid use.
'We are now evaluating the use of the fund. Students should make a report on how they spend the budget,' Agus said.
The Jokowi-Ahok administration also made a breakthrough by introducing an open-call recruitment system for local leader jobs in April, the first of its kind in the country.
The merit-based selection system aimed to fill 44 district head and 267 subdistrict head positions in the capital, the faces of the administration in providing public services.
After being selected, the administration supervised the new leaders' performances in every six months. Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) lauded the system, citing it as 'an exemplary model of a recruitment process' for strategic positions in local administrations and even at ministerial level.
The residents said that public services in district and subdistrict offices improved after the selection, which included computerized written tests, interviews and program pitching.
In its latest move, the Jokowi-Ahok administration managed to move squatters on the Ria-Rio reservoir banks to the Pinus Elok low-cost apartments in Cakung, North Jakarta.
As many programs are now already in place, the Jokowi administration has shifted its focus on easing the total traffic gridlock anticipated next year.
Two giant transportation projects ' the mass rapid transit (MRT) system and the monorail ' that have been halted for 24 and 9 years respectively, will commence construction in October, exactly one year after Jokowi and Ahok assumed office.
