Jakarta governor-elect Anies Baswedan (middle) accompanied by deputy governor-elect Sandiaga Uno (right) and Anies-Sandi synchronization team head Sudirman Said (left) address the press regarding the results of the work of the synchronization team in Jakarta, Friday (13/10). The results have been published in a book titled Contribution of Thought for Jakarta.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Anies Baswedan and Sandiaga Uno will be inaugurated as governor and deputy governor of Jakarta for the 2017-2022 term on Monday (16/10). They are getting ready to fulfill their campaign promises through programs to be synchronized with the programs of the Jakarta Development Planning Agency.
A synchronization team led by former Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said handed over a book titled Sumbangan Pemikiran (A Gift of Thought). “This is a good start to commence a duty,” Anies said during the handover of the synchronization team’s report in Jakarta on Friday (13/10).
The book summarizes the vision and mission of Anies-Sandi based on their meetings with thousands of people, including representatives from Jakarta administration agencies.
“The book consists of reports from 200 meetings involving up to 2,400 people, both from the Anies-Sandi team and agencies under the Jakarta administration,” Sudirman said.
The vision and mission expressed at those meetings, as well as 23 promises made by Anies and Sandi, are translated into political programs. They are detailed in the revised regional budget (APBD) 2017, APBD 2018 and the medium-term regional development plan (RPJMD) 2018-2022.
As many as 23 promises of Anies-Sandi, Sudirman said, were translated into 167 programs and 527 activities divided into 14 sectors or issues.
Meanwhile, the RPJMD 2018-2022 comprises 17 missions, translated into 36 targets and 44 indicators. “This is a technocratic work to convince [people] that the political promises of the new leaders can be included in the planning,” Sudirman added.
During the campaign, Anies said, everyone had been busy trying to gather public support. When stepping into the bureaucracy, skill is needed to move from promises to programs. He said he was fortunate, because the synchronization team provided support for him and his deputy to work.
Realizing promises
Sandi expressed his hope that the report, Sumbangan Pemikiran, would inspire politicians seeking office as regional heads in the 2018 elections. He said he hoped they would be aware that the true task of politicians was not to struggle for power, but to fulfill their promises to the people.
Regarding the priority programs after the inauguration, Anies said, there were numerous programs. He said he would explain them once he started work, because each program had a time frame.
Based on the work of the synchronization team, there were several things to be done at the start of his duty, including assessing the revised APBD 2017, given slow spending. “Only 40 percent [of the funds] have been absorbed, meaning only 40 percent [of the projects] have been realized,” he said.
Therefore, he would first ensure that what has already been outlined by the Jakarta administration would be properly implemented until the end of 2017. Second, Anies-Sandi would ensure all plans are put into programs.
Anies also said he would continue the good programs of the previous governor and would welcome feedback from Jakarta residents.
Meanwhile, Sandi said all programs would be based on data.
“What makes us confident is the fact that people know about our programs and are awaiting their implementation, such as affordable education and living costs,” he said.
When asked to clarify programs related to the environment, such as land reclamation, Sudirman said these required comprehensive study of legal and environment aspects. As for the unfinished revitalization of rivers, this required an identification of problems.
Separately, Jakarta Development Planning Agency (Bappeda) head Tuty Kusumawati said her office had communicated with the synchronization team several times and noted that several new programs overlapped with existing ones. “There are additional programs. For example, in the education sector, there is the Jakarta Smart Card [KJP]. Now, we have KJP Plus,” she said.
Several key programs of the governor and deputy governor–elect have been put into the revised APBD 2017. The programs that can start once Anies and Sandi take office are OKE OTrip and OKE OCE.
Tuty said OK OTrip could be adjusted by the public service obligation (PSO) funds of Rp 1.9 trillion for PT Transjakarta. The PSO funds have so far been spent on subsidies for Transjakarta bus tickets. The OK OCE program can start with entrepreneurship training or preparations.
Tuty said there were lots of government works to continue, such as the development of proper housing for Jakarta residents, the continuation of big transportation projects like the MRT and LRT, the development of public spaces and open green spaces and the settling of social problems.
After being inaugurated, Anies and Sandi will have a maximum of six months to finish the RPJMD, as stipulated in Law No 23/2014 on Regional Administration. From a technocratic view, almost 90 percent of the RPJMD programs have been processed by Bappeda and the synchronization team. However, before they are approved, Anies and Sandi still have time for a political process through deliberation of development planning and public consultation.
Strictness needed
Vice President Jusuf Kalla has asked Anies and Sandi to be stricter in leading Jakarta’s heterogeneous residents. Without strictness, it would be difficult for them to improve Jakarta, which had complex problems, such as traffic congestion and floods.
“They must be much stricter. Otherwise, it will be difficult for them to solve the complex problems. I believe both of them have capabilities,” Kalla said before leaving for a trip to London, UK, as reported by Kompas journalist Suhartono.
In order to improve Jakarta, which is crowded and needs public space, Kalla also asked the governor-elect to add more public spaces in the form of parks for children and city parks. “City parks are important. Not only do they serve as green spaces, but they also serve as meeting points for residents and places for children to play,” Kalla added.
