Jokowi says no to World Bank complicated terms

JAKARTA. Jakarta Governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said on Tuesday that he was renegotiating a loan agreement with the World Bank over a massive dredging project in the capital.

Under the joint project that the Public Works Ministry and the Jakarta Public Works Agency initiated in 2008 — the Jakarta Emergency Dredging Initiative (JEDI), or the Jakarta Urgent Flood Mitigation Project (JUMFP) as it is now known — 13 rivers will be dredged, including the Cakung River in East Jakarta, the Sunter and the Angke Rivers in North Jakarta and the Ciliwung River, using US$150 million in loans provided by the World Bank.

However, the convoluted terms that came with the loan were deemed as a factor that has put the project in limbo for years.

“The World Bank has attached complicated terms and conditions along with the Rp 1.2 trillion loan,” Jokowi told reporters at City Hall.

“I say it’s not worth it: We have Rp 10 trillion of unspent funds [from last year’s budget]. I don’t want complicated terms and pressure.”

The terms, according to the governor, include details on relocating squatters from the riverbanks.

“The contract stipulates details about how we should relocate them, how we have to make sure that the people won’t become poorer and that they will have a job after relocation. It should be done on a case-to-case basis and might complicate us in the field,” he said, adding that “I am the father [of Jakarta residents], of course I will think about those affected by the relocation.”

“We want a simpler agreement so we can work fast,” he pointed out.

The governor, however, denied that his statement was a signal that the administration was aiming to cancel the agreement with the World Bank.

“Should we cancel the agreement, we would insert the project into our budget and that can’t happen this year, meaning that we have to push the project forward to next year,” he said. 

Separately, Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto acknowledged that he was unhappy with the progress of the project.

“We have worked hard to plan [the project] but they kept rejecting it, whereas the points that they rejected were actually not a problem if implemented in Indonesia,” Djoko said as quoted by kompas.com on Monday.

Deputy Finance Minister Anny Ratnawati said that the ministry would evaluate the city administration’s demand to renegotiate the loan agreement. “We will discuss this and we will review the loan,” she said. 

In a statement emailed to The Jakarta Post, the World Bank Indonesia country office said that the city administration needed to follow the settled framework.

“The Jakarta administration is responsible for any required resettlement, but will need to follow the agreed and disclosed Resettlement Policy Framework and prepared Resettlement Plans must be consulted with the affected people and approved by the World Bank. The tendering for the project work is underway and we look forward to the start of dredging activities on the ground very soon,” the statement read.

“We are also discussing with the central government and the city administration ways to expedite the project. We truly value the dialogue and feedback toward improving the project.”

(Sita W. Dewi, Corry Elyda/The Jakarta Post)