Anissa S. Febrina, Jakarta – Despite widespread poverty and alarming pollution levels, Jakarta has been named the best province in the country in terms of economic and human development.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono presented the 2006 Best Human Development Index (HDI) award to Governor Sutiyoso on Friday, after the city ranked first above Yogyakarta's Sleman regency.
HDI is a means to measure the economic development of an area by taking into account social and environmental aspects, as well as the purchasing power of its residents.
"This award is a milestone for all to remind us that development should not only be based on economic aspects, but on social, educational, health and environmental factors as well," Coordinating Minister for the People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie said as quoted by newsportal detik.com.
Jakarta accounted for 17 percent of national gross domestic product and reported some 7 percent of its population living under the poverty line in 2005 data from the Central Statistics Agency.
In the environmental sector, a report produced last year by the Jakarta Environmental Management Agency (BPLHD) reveals that there were only 20 days this year – up to and including September – when the air quality was categorized as good, compared to 53 days in 2004 and 25 days in 2003.
A worsening trend is evident over the past five years with good air quality reaching 108 days in 2001 and 75 in 2002.
Vehicular emission accounts for 70 percent of pollution in the city, while the remaining 30 percent comes from industrial estates and households, the report said.
Despite the high level of pollution, the conversion rate of parks into commercial areas in 2004 was recorded at a high 55 percent in West Jakarta and almost 25 percent in South Jakarta, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) revealed.
A better performance could probably be seen in the education sector as the administration has provided free education for the mandatory first nine years of schooling for children for the last couple of years. This applies only for legal residents or those who hold a Jakarta identity card
However, there still are 48,666 illiterate people among Jakarta's 10 million residents.
There are 16,222 illiterates between 10 and 15 years of age, 17,421 between 16 and 24 years and 15,023 between 25 and 44 years.
Criticism over other human development awards had also been heard of last year. In October 2005, the United Nation's Human Settlements Program (UN-HABITAT) also gave the Jakarta administration an award for transforming the city into a safer, better-serviced and greener place under the two terms of Sutiyoso's leadership.
The award of Habitat Scroll of Honor – highlighting the upgrading of the city's flood canal system, improvements to parks, and the reconstruction of major public facilities – was slammed by urban activists.
Activists from Jakarta's Urban Poor Network, Greater Jakarta Becak Network, Urban Poor Consortium (UPC), and Urban Poor Linkage (UPLINK) said the widespread evictions of Jakarta's urban poor, or those considered illegal residents had disgraced the current administration.