ReliefWeb, Date: 21 Mar 2007
Jakarta floods a wake-up call for government - governor
By Achmad Sukarsono
Source: Reuters Foundation
JAKARTA, March 21 (Reuters) - Deadly floods that inundated parts of the Indonesian
capital last month were a wake-up call for officials outside the city's administration to
help solve the problem, Jakarta's governor said on Wednesday. Jakarta, a sprawling
seaside city of nine million people -- a figure swollen by two million commuters during
the day -- was hit for about a week in February by heavy rain and floods that killed
dozens and displaced thousands.
The surging water also caused blackouts, cut telecommunications and closed down
parts of the city, to the point where economists feared it could discourage investment.
Much criticism was aimed at Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso for failing to anticipate a
problem some experts say has a five-year cycle. The last major floods occurred in
2002, a few months before his first term ended.
But Sutiyoso told foreign journalists and diplomats the flood problem could not be
solved by the city administration alone and the recent disaster forced the central
government and other officials to finally listen to his longtime pleas for help.
"Whatever we do in Jakarta will have no meaning if things are not in control in the
uphill areas. According to law, that needs to be done by the central government but
they had not done anything," said Sutiyoso, a former army general who once was
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's direct commander.
Jakarta is a flat metropolis built on swampland. Parts are below sea level and 13 rivers
flow through the city.
The sources of these rivers are mostly in the hills near the West Java city of Bogor,
where deforestation is rampant following construction of golf courses and weekend
villas for Jakartans.
"The recent floods gave me a chance to press the central government to do something
for Jakarta. It moved their hearts to release funds that can help finish the east flood
canal and they also plan to build large reservoirs in Bogor to block the river flow," said
Sutiyoso, whose second term ends this year.
Jakarta has for decades been unable to carry out a flood-fighting programme centred
around construction of a large canal because money was lacking to buy land from
residents.
Critics say Jakarta's city administration has its own share of blame, including letting
people turn riverbanks into slums. Sutiyoso argued he has been trying to relocate the
more than 70,000 families on the banks to cheap government housing, but the city's
capacity is limited to moving 2,000 families a year. "With no help from others, it will
take 35 years" to shift residents from the banks of Jakarta's "miserable" rivers, he
said.
Environmentalists also blame Sutiyoso, who is not seeking another term, for poor city
planning that has seen a huge construction boom as the economy has begun to
recover from the late 1990s financial crisis, slashing water catchment areas.
Sutiyoso said his administration has been prudent in giving licences to property
developers and argued if any request falls on designated green areas, it would not
pass the cut. |
