Govt Asked to Work with Private Companies to Address Slum Housing
27 December 2014 11:00 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Lana Soelistianingsih, an economist at the University of Indonesia, suggested the government to cooperate with private companies to address slum housing issues through their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs.
Lana said, since the fund allocation from the state budget is limited, the president could propose the concept of slum housing programs to private companies.
“It’s not difficult. The president can invite companies to dinner and offer programs to address slum housing issues,” Lana told Tempo on Thursday, December 25, 2014.
For instance, the president can offer programs of sanitation improvement and water procurement to private companies and instruct Social Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa to follow up the cooperation.
“The government can let private sectors to run the project to avoid corruption,” she said.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has earmarked Rp384 billion (US$32 million) to address slum houses within five years ahead. For 2015, the government has allocated Rp12 Trillion (US$1 billion) from the state budget for the programs. According to the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), Indonesia currently has slum housing areas with a total size of 38,431 hectares.
ALI HIDAYAT