( This x the Jak Pos )
The Jakarta administration has demanded the World Bank finalize legal guidelines regarding the relocation of residents whose homes will be razed in an upcoming river-dredging project.
The Jakarta Emergency Dredging Initiative, funded by a World Bank loan, will see 10 rivers, four reservoirs and the West Flood Canal dredged of tons of sediment and garbage.
It will also widen the rivers to allow for a freer flow of water, which is expected to significantly ameliorate chronic flooding across the capital.
Governor Fauzi Bowo said on Friday that the World Bank had previously promised to have the Resettlement Policy Framework drafted before May 2010 so that the relocation could begin ahead of the dredging.
However, he said there had been a delay because the RPF, written in Indonesian, needed to be translated into English, and given the legal complexity of the document, this was taking longer than expected.
“I’ve asked our legal bureau to work with the World Bank’s lawyers on this translation issue,” he said after a meeting with Stefan G. Koeberle, the bank’s country director for Indonesia.
He added that Koeberle had promised to have both Indonesian and English versions of the RPF ready before May.
“I’m tired of waiting while they sort this out, so I told him I don’t want any more changes,” Fauzi said.
“I told him the people of Jakarta won’t stand for empty talk and they want the rivers dredged double-quick, so they’d better have the guidelines ready by May.”
Around 5,000 families are expected to be relocated for the new project. Under the terms of the RPF, those with valid Jakarta ID cards will be housed in government-built apartments, while the rest will be given monetary compensation.
Abdul Rahman Rasyid, a communications specialist with the World Bank, said the RPF was crucial because it would address the social and psychological impact on the residents to be relocated from the banks of the rivers.
He said the bank wanted to ensure that no one was disadvantaged as a result of the project.
“That’s why we’re translating the RPF as diligently as we can,” he said.
“We don’t want there to be legal ramifications just because we failed to properly translate a single word. It’s a very sensitive issue.”
A similar project launched in 2008 to revitalize upstream areas of the Citarum River saw the Asian Development Bank, which is funding the $500 million, 15-year scheme, accused of failing to properly notify riverbank residents in Bekasi that they would be evicted.
Anti-poverty campaigners pointed out that while the notice was posted on the ADB’s Web site, the largely impoverished people in the affected areas did not have access to the Internet.
Aside from the RPF delay, the project is also being held back pending the issuance of a presidential decree on the $150 million loan, without which the money cannot be released. The decree, which was expected last October, has still not been issued by the central government.
Fauzi said he was still waiting the decree, which was “an inseparable part of our agreement with the World Bank.”
zo 30 jan 2011 - 4:53