Indonesia: Fuel Price Issues

Eligibility cardholders to be evaluated each quarter

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, 10 Oct 2005

The Jakarta administration plans to periodically evaluate whether the recipients of cash assistance from the central government are still eligible for the facility. The cash assistance was set up to offset the effects of the Oct. 1 fuel price increases.

"After three months, we need to evaluate whether or not the fuel compensation cardholders still meet the set criteria. Otherwise, they are not entitled to the cash payments," Jakarta Deputy Governor Fauzi Bowo said over the weekend. He used as an example poor families who received financial assistance from relatives outside the family unit.

Among 14 criteria used as yardsticks to measure whether a household is deemed poor are the family's daily income and expenditure on health services, food and clothing. If a family meets at least eight of the criteria, then it is entitled to receive Rp 100,000 monthly, distributed every three months.

The first disbursement of the fund was for the October to December period. The second disbursement is expected to be carried out early next year. State mail company PT Posindo will be in charge of the cash payments. Fauzi added the periodical evaluation was also needed in the case of families who had not initially been eligible but whose breadwinner lost their job due to cutbacks resulting from the fuel price increases.

"In principle, we have to make sure that only those poor families will enjoy the cash payments," he emphasized.
The Jakarta Statistics Agency (BPS Jakarta) said it had first registered 101,219 poor households, or 444,527 residents across the city.

However, it had since discovered the wrongful issuance of some cards, which it would withdraw and destroy. "We have to drop some names from the list of recipients -- although they claim they are poor -- since it was found out that they failed to meet the required criteria," BPS Jakarta head Sunari Sarwono said.

He said that as of last week, it had canceled the payments of at least 3,263 residents registered as recipients of the program, or 3.49 percent. It has also withdrawn 276 cards for reasons ranging from incorrect information on the printed cards (23 cards), recipients not found (94 cards), recipients having moved to unknown places (nine cards) and other reasons (150 cards).

"We will destroy the withdrawn cards to prevent any misuse of them," he added. He said his agency was verifying the status of 5,222 poor families who had not been registered as fuel compensation card recipients during the initial registration dragnet held weeks before the fuel price increases.

"They will immediately receive the cash payments as long as they fulfill most of the 14 poverty criteria," he emphasized.

Complaint center called for to help monitor cash aid program

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, 10 Oct 2005

Following numerous reports of errors in the distribution of fuel compensation cards in the capital, the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) is calling for the establishment of a complaint center to help protect poor residents. The central government, through regional administrations, is delivering cash assistance of Rp 100,000 a month to poor families across the country to help offset the effects of the recent fuel price increases. However, there have been numerous reports that thousands of the fuel compensation cards needed to claim the assistance have fallen into the hands of people who do not qualify for the program, including civil servants.

YLKI member Sudaryatmo said on Saturday the Central Statistic Agency (BPS) was not equipped to document every poor resident across the country. "From the beginning we have objected to the way the cash is being dispersed, as it is difficult to determine who is poor and who is not. The way the program is set up is also prone to abuse. They should have realized the quality of government officials at the subdistrict level," he told The Jakarta Post.

Sudaryatmo said the only way to make sure every poor resident received the cash assistance was for the government set up a complaint center that was fully accessible by the poor. "They would also be able to file reports on the misuse of funds in the program. That kind of participation would allow the government to monitor the program," he said.

Sudaryatmo, however, said such a center would be useless unless the government followed up on every complaint and report filed by the public. He said the government could cooperate with credible non-governmental institutions to establish the center.

To help offset the effects of the fuel price increases that took effect on Oct. 1, the government is giving Rp 100,000 (US$10) a month to poor families across the country. The government is using data from the BPS to determine who qualifies for the assistance.

In Jakarta, 101,219 poor families were initially registered to receive money under the program. However, there are growing concerns over the accuracy of the data, with many experts saying most of the recipients of the cash do not qualify for the program.

Last week, the BPS acknowledged it had made mistakes with its data. Subsequently, the agency removed 3,539 families from its list of those entitled to receive the cash assistance. Meanwhile, the head of the statistical analysis division at BPS Jakarta, Tefi Mathias, said his office had been checking over the initial data for the past three weeks.

"We have found that many families and neighborhood unit heads falsified their data. For instance, many neighborhood unit heads who are not poor were included on the lists," he told the Post. Tefi said all 250 officials at BPS Jakarta had gone door-to-door to verify whether families on the list of recipients really qualified for the money.

He said his office would finish the verification process on Monday. "We have finished the verification in Central Jakarta, North Jakarta, South Jakarta and West Jakarta. On Sunday, we hope to finish verifying families in East Jakarta. We will announce the results on Monday," Tefi said.

'We have to totally change our lifestyle'

Jakarta Post, 10 Oct 2005

The recent fuel price hikes have led to follow-on increases in the prices of other communities and considerably reduced people's purchasing power. The Jakarta Post interviewed some people here on what we as a nation will have to do to weather the pinch.

Chrisan, 21, is a student at the University of Indonesia in Depok, West Java. She lives with her family in Tanjung Barat, South Jakarta: I can understand why the government raised fuel prices. When I was in Bangkok recently, I noticed that gas prices there were between Rp 6,000 and 7,000 per liter. So, looking at this, it was a must for the government to raise fuel prices. However, the fuel price hike means an increase in other prices, including transportation charges and the cost of food. I have made several changes to my lifestyle to adapt to this new situation. I used to spend a lot of money on food. Now, I bring food from home, instead of buying food at the campus canteen. With this, I can use the money I save for other things, including buying text books and for photocopying expenses. I will try also to cut back on my shopping and will buy only the things that I really need.

Sutopo, 42, is an employee of a private bank in Central Jakarta. He lives with his wife and children in Bekasi: The fuel price hikes have really affected me as the prices of most other things are also skyrocketing. I used to drive my own car to the office. Now, I can't afford to buy fuel and pay the expressway tolls. Now, I'm taking public transportation, but taking the bus is very inconvenient. Besides, I have to change buses several times before arriving at my office. As a result, I often arrive late. That's why I plan to sell my car and buy a motorcycle as I think I can reach my office more quickly that way. Besides, a motorcycle only needs around three liters of premium to last several days. I know that using a motorcycle is more tiresome but I just can't see any other alternative. I hope that by using a motorcycle I can save more to cover other expenses, including food and my children's school expenses.