City told to improve its work on economy

Despite its claims to have successfully improved the city’s economy, the Jakarta administration is viewed as needing to achieve more.

Last week, Governor Fauzi Bowo boasted a list of achievements he claimed as having secured during his tenure, which included an average annual economic growth rate of 6.17 percent, higher than
the national average of 5.88 percent per year.

Enny Sri Hartati, executive director at the Institute for the Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF), said, however, that with advanced economic infrastructure and centralized financial activities in the capital, the growth rate was nothing unexpected for the city.

“The administration cannot take the credit for the city’s economic results. As a matter of fact, the administration should work even harder because the city’s achievements are below what it is capable of,” Enny told the The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Indonesia’s economic activities are concentrated in the capital, with more than two-thirds of the country’s money circulating in Jakarta.

Fauzi, in his end-of-term report hearing, claimed a number of achievements he had realized including that in the past five years, the city’s budget had grown from Rp 20.6 trillion in 2007 to Rp 36.02 trillion (US$3.81 billion) this year.

The total number of exports and imports transiting through the city were recorded as growing from $32.18 billion and $34.73 billion, respectively, in 2007 to $46.47 billion and $88.87 billion in 2011.

Fauzi also claimed that the city’s gross domestic product (GDP) had increased from Rp 62.5 million per capita in 2007 to Rp 101 million per capita last year.

Enny, however, said the city needed to work harder to increase its revenue.

“Investment coordination with private parties, and bureaucratic services and facilities are also areas the administration needs to improve,” she said.

Separately, Sugito, the deputy chairman of the Jakarta branch of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), said that businesspeople were expecting the administration to make improvements in transportation facilities.

“Better highways and toll roads are the least we should be able to expect from the administration,”
he said.

Earlier this year, the City Development Planning Board (Bappeda) admitted that poor planning, implementation mishaps and internal disorganization within the administration’s institutions had resulted in a staggering Rp 6.47 trillion surplus from last year’s Rp 31.7 trillion
budget.

Fauzi’s first five-year term in office will end on Oct. 7 and he is seeking reelection in the upcoming