J

akarta Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama has instructed the Public Works Agency to take a greater role in flood-mitigation programs, demanding that the agency'€™s staff work harder under the supervision of the newly appointed agency head.

Several months ago, Ahok demoted then Public Works Agency head Manggas Rudi Siahaan and promoted the agency'€™s deputy head, Agus Priyono, to the top job. Ahok cited underperformance as the main reason behind the replacement.

'€œFor almost two years, the Public Works Agency has been nonexistent. It did not get any significant work done. That is why starting next year, I have asked Pak Agus to get things done faster,'€ Ahok told reporters at City Hall in Central Jakarta on Thursday.

He went on that during his 21-month stint as the agency'€™s head, Manggas failed to clear the capital city of damaged roads by December 2014, a promise he made when he was inaugurated in February 2013.

Ahok added that the Public Works Agency'€™s priority in 2015 was to continue flood-mitigation projects.

'€œFor next year, I have asked Pak Agus to focus on flood-mitigation projects. I don'€™t want to hear of any more delays in flood-mitigation projects next year,'€ Ahok said.

The governor said the agency would be fully responsible for dredging the city'€™s degraded rivers, bringing an end to the service of private contractors.

'€œWe have agreed that starting next year, the city administration will not hire private contractors to dredge the rivers. The Public Works Agency will be responsible for the dredging. We will also use our own heavy equipment,'€ he said, adding that private contractors had done a poor job in dredging the rivers.

Separately, Agus vowed that the dredging projects would be quicker under the new independent system.

'€œThe contractors have done a poor job because they are paid based on the volume. Once they reach the volume they are required to fulfill, they stop dredging. When our agency handles the task, we will dredge all day without measuring the volume,'€ he said.

Despite his optimism, Agus said the agency'€™s main obstacle was relocating squatters who made the rivers inaccessible to heavy equipment.

Squatters living along the Ciliwung River in Kampung Pulo, East Jakarta, for example, have refused to be relocated to low-cost apartment buildings, delaying the revitalization program for that section of the river. The squatters insist that they are used to dealing with the flooding that hits their area yearly.

Most of them have demanded that the city buy their houses so they have enough capital to move elsewhere or start over their small businesses in a new place. However, the city'€™s policy is to relocate squatters in low-cost apartments and only purchase land that is legally owned.