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Rich Jakarta has sluggish poverty rate decline, expert says
Jakarta has been able to reduce poverty but not yet significantly.
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Residents conduct activities in front of their houses in the Benhil area of Jakarta in this file photo taken on Dec. 5, 2017. (Antara/Rivan Awal Lingga)
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lthough the poverty rate in the developed and relatively wealthy capital city of Jakarta has declined, income inequality and a lack of basic necessities stubbornly persist, with experts questioning the effectiveness of the city administration’s social programs.
The latest data from the Jakarta office of Statistics Indonesia (BPS Jakarta), published on Monday, show that the poverty rate in Jakarta as of March reached its lowest point in the past five years and was the lowest among all 34 provinces in the country at 3.47 percent, or 365,550 people.
BPS Jakarta recorded that in 2017 the city’s poverty rate stood at 3.78 percent dropping to 3.55 percent in 2018.
Despite the downward trend, experts have pointed out that the decrease was slow compared with Jakarta’s hefty regional budget. Jakarta’s 2019 regional budget was set at Rp 89.08 trillion (US$ 6.28 billion) this year while city revenue is projected at Rp. 74.77 trillion.
Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) economist Bhima Yudhistira Adhinegara said that although Jakarta’s poverty level had declined, the decline was too small to say that the city’s policies were successful.
“In the last five years there have been reductions. But poverty in Jakarta is not only about numbers, but also about other indicators such as water access and many others,” Bhima said in a discussion on Wednesday.
“The decline is too small compared to Jakarta’s budget. Comparing Jakarta with other regions is comparing apples with oranges.”
