T

he Jakarta administration has agreed to revive the Greater Jakarta Coordination Board (BKSP Jabodetabekjur), after previously recommending the disbandment of the board.

The board was jointly established in 2010 by Jakarta, West Java and Banten provinces, designed to coordinate issues between cities that have connection to the central axis of Jakarta.

The board works not only in Jakarta but also Bogor, Bekasi and Depok cities as well as Cianjur, Bogor and Bekasi regencies in West Java, and Tangerang and South Tangerang cities and Tangerang regency in Banten.

'€œWe will distribute funding to satellite cities for development through BKSP Jabodetabekjur. The board will coordinate with the satellite cities on what they need, and we will distribute funding to the cities through the board,'€ Ahok told reporters at City Hall Tuesday.

In 2014, Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama and Bekasi Mayor Rachmat Effendi asked that the board be disbanded, citing the its lack of work.

The following year, the Attorney General'€™s Office named former BKSP secretary Asep Sukarno, who also previously served as chief of West Java Provincial Organization Bureau, as a suspect for allegedly embezzling grants from Jakarta, West Java and Banten.

The board received a Rp 7 billion (US$502,073) grant from the three provinces in 2013, however some of the funds were allegedly misused by Asep, which caused an estimated Rp 1.2 billion in state losses.

Ahok agreed to revive the board, but asked that it work well in coordinating the needs of Jakarta and the satellite cities.

The board has five main functions in the area, which are to coordinate cooperation, prepare programs, guarantee development and to monitor and evaluate programs.

'€œThe BKSP must do its job well. We can provide as much funding needed to ensure coordination between the cities. Stop all these discussions and meetings and just get to work,'€ Ahok said.

He said the main programs that needed coordination were flood mitigation and projects aimed at reducing traffic congestion. Ahok said all satellite cities that received funding from Jakarta must be accountable and carry out development according to plans.

Separately, the board'€™s secretary Herdi Jauhari said the Jakarta administration and the board during the same occasion also agreed upon a '€œgrand design'€ of development in greater Jakarta. The design consists of many aspects, including transportation, demography and flood mitigation, and is integrated between the cities.

Herdi said the city administration and the board signed a memorandum of understanding that would give the BKSP more power. He claimed the board was unable to do much work because of a lack of authority. '€œWe'€™ll not only distribute funding to satellite cities; we will also be responsible for monitoring projects funded by Jakarta in satellite cities. Cities whose development are not in accordance with initial plans and proposals will be sanctioned,'€ Herdi said.

Previously, he said, the board only facilitated discussions between cities, which could be done just as well without the board. He added that the new system would commence after the Jakarta administration agreed on a revised budget later this year, or next year at the latest.

'€œThe Jakarta administration has already allocated direct grants to satellite cities in the 2016 budget so it'€™s too late for the system right now. However, Pak Ahok said the city administration will begin distributing funds through the BKSP in the revised budget or in the 2017 budget,'€ Herdi said.