Habitat International 24 (2000) 443-453
Tjahjono Rahardjo
Centre for Urban Studies,
Abstract
Recently, a sustainable development action plan was prepared for the city of
Keywords: Local government; Partnerships; Sustainable development; Capacity building; Local agenda 21;
1. Introduction
The 1992 Earth Summit in
It was, for example, discovered that there is a need for capacity building measures at the local level, aimed to help the various stakeholders to play their roles more effectively. Besides acquiring new skills, it was felt that changes in their attitudes were required, in particular those of local government officials. This paper attempts to identify the capacity building initiatives needed to respond to the demand for a more responsive, effective and efficient urban management practice.
The first part of this paper briefly describes the city of
2.
Located on the low northern coastal plain of Java,
Indiscriminate development of housing estates on the hills surrounding the city, for example, has resulted in serious monsoon flooding in low-lying areas. Excessive coastal land reclamation has caused tidewater inundation in areas near the coast, including the historic old town. Overexploitation of the groundwater for industrial, commercial and residential purposes has caused acute land subsidence in many parts of the city as well as seawater intrusion reaching up to several kilometres inland.
The benefits of
3. The
Officially, the initiator of
The Bank suggested that Bapedalda work together with a local university to form a Joint Team. The Centre for Urban Studies*
Bapedalda was rather apprehensive about using the title `Semarang Local Agenda 21a. It feared that other local government agencies might think that Bapedalda was trying to meddle in their a!airs. It was decided that the title `Semarang Environmental Agendaa would generate fewer objections, as the word `environmentala would justify Bapedalda taking the lead.[1]
Referring to the Agenda 21 Indonesia, the Semarang Development Guideline, and the
All relevant local government agencies were selected to participate, and so were the universities in
Non-governmental organisations were selected on the basis of their "eld of activities,[3] which, in practice meant all those being involved in environmental issues and related fields. Various youth, student, women and professional groups (including the Semarang Legal Aid Foundation, the Consumers Group and the Journalist Association) were included in this category. The involvement of community-based organisations was restricted to those having `city widea activities.[4] Those that covered only limited areas, such as neighbourhood associations (rukun tetangga)[5], were not included, as their sheer number made it impractical to do so. In total, 66 organisations, 22 of which were local government agencies and the rest representing the business community and civil society, were invited to take part in the process to develop the Semarang Environmental Agenda.
All stakeholders were then requested to present their reactions to the draft ‘Environmental Agenda'. The Joint Team felt that it would be better to organise two separate meetings to do this.
The first one was for local government agencies, the second for the private sector and the community. The reason for this was that it would allow the local government agencies to first agree among themselves (or to use a favourite expression among Indonesian bureaucrats: `to arrive at a common perceptions’) before meeting the other actors. Non-governmental stakeholder representatives were invited for the second meeting.
It is interesting to note the distinctly different tones of the two meetings. The firrst meeting mainly focused on issues like establishing tasks and responsibilities: which agency is or should be responsible for a certain affair. Also, statistical figures such as the number of poor people, the volume of uncollected garbage, the extent of flooding, etc. were commented upon and discussed at great length. Each agency had its own, sometimes conflicting, figures.
Participants of the second meeting, while expressing their appreciation for being invited to participate,[6] were not interested in such details. Their main concern was with the implementation of the agenda once it was formulated. They strongly questioned the local government's commitment because all too often they had witnessed the government breaking its own promises. The two meetings made it clear that in
The Joint Team integrated the inputs gained from these two meetings into a report. The plan was to have more meetings with the two groups of stakeholders followed by a joint plenary discussion.
At the end of this process a stakeholder dialogue forum was to be set up. In the mean time, the MEIP was consulted and asked to comment on the draft report. The MEIP felt that the report was too formal and too academic, and, consequently, not very interesting. The agency was of the opinion that it would not serve the purpose of raising the awareness of and stimulating continued dialogue between the stakeholders. Bapedalda's head, on the other hand, wanted to have something tangible to show to the mayor, a document of some kind, and not just a report on a vague conceptual process. She was rather impatient with the series of meetings and consultations, and suggested that the consultation sessions be skipped except for the plenary session. As a compromise, it was finally agreed that separate consultations with the stakeholders would be organized after the plenary session.
4. The local government of
Local governments in
According to Holmes and Krishna (1996): “By engaging a wide range of stakeholders, the pool of resources available to support decision-making is enlarged, ownership is generated, capacity and learning are enhanced and the quality of performance is enhanced.”
To be able to act as an enabler, local governments according to
- Understand and assess the existing conditions;
- Identify the urban actors locally involved and to understand their interests and motives;
- Develop policies in consultation with all stakeholders;
- Identify partners and determine what each partner can do;
- Negotiate and mediate partnerships to address the problems, and
- Monitor the process and evaluate the impact.
If these yardsticks are applied to the preparation of the Semarang Environmental Agenda,
To understand and assess the existing conditions, for example, accurate, up to date information is needed. But in
Above all, it was found that forging partnerships with other stakeholders was definitely not one of the strong points of
Mutual trust amongst the parties involved is the most essential foundation for partnerships. Before any real dialogue can take place the parties will have to be able to overcome feelings of suspicion and to treat each other as equals. During the preparation of the Agenda, however, this element of trust, understanding and respect among the stakeholders was conspicuously missing.
To support efforts to build trust and to engage the participation of the stakeholders, there should be a flow of information. In this respect the role of the local government in preparing information and to disseminate this to the widest possible audience is very important. This information should be interesting, imaginative and easy to understand. But as was mentioned earlier, initially there was criticism on the way the first draft of the Agenda was presented. It was just like any other official document: formal, dull and often obscure, not exactly something that the public would easily understand.
For the general public it was also difficult to convey their views to the government as there was no e!ective forum for this purpose. Of course the government of
This top-down approach has been practised in all aspects of life in
This is also true for the Integrated Urban Infrastructure Development Programme (IUIDP), which has been hailed as an innovative urban management approach in
In view of the key role of the local government in the process of drafting the Environmental Agenda, considerable attention has been given to its role. However, this does not mean that the roles of other urban actors in
This misinterpretation of the meaning of partnership has caused distortions in
The weakest group of stakeholders in
The new laws on local autonomy and revenue sharing will enable local authorities to draw up their own pay scales, instead of following the uniform one now effective nation wide. Some natural-resource-rich regions are already trying to attract professionals in central government organisations with offers of attractive salaries.
5. The present and future needs for capacity building in the context of the
The preparation of the Semarang Environmental Agenda has brought out several weak points as regards the roles, attitudes and modes of operation of all stakeholders involved in the process, but particularly on the part of the key player: the local government. A distinction can be made in this respect between more intangible issues such as a lack of trust and credibility on the one hand, and a more concrete lack of capacities and skills which are required to successfully bring a participatory planning process to a good end. However, it is argued that these issues are linked in many ways: a bureaucracy will only be credible and be trusted as a partner if it is characterised by integrity as well as capability.
Let us first consider the issue of trust and credibility. It was shown that there was a lack of trust among the stakeholders, stemming from the local government's low credibility. One sign of this was sharp rivalry among local government agencies, clearly demonstrated during the preparation of the Semarang Agenda. Government credibility is also undermined by the lack of creativity and the tendency of bureaucrats to avoid responsibility by passing on decision making to higher levels in the hierarchy. Given the lack of confidence in the government on the one hand, and the pivotal role it plays on the other hand, the main priority for capacity building relates to rebuilding the credibility of the local governments. Attention should be given to the creation of a strong organisational culture, good management practices, and effective communication networks, in addition to improving rules and regulations or procedures and pay scales, as Peltenburg, Davidson, Teerlink and Wakely (1996) point out. Of course, it would be too much to expect that the building of a strong organisational culture and shared norms and values would eliminate rivalry altogether, but it can help (various agencies of) local government to develop a common vision based on which it can perform a common mission.
Building up the credibility of the local government would also require improving the quality of its employees. It is widely acknowledged that the number of civil servants in
A leaner (and more efficient) workforce would make higher salaries possible. The very low pay of civil servants is often used as an excuse for the rampant corruption in
In sum, what is urgently needed now is a strategy to develop the capacity of the local government in all three dimensions: human resource development, organisational development and developing and adjusting the institutional and legal framework of local governments. This will enhance local government capacity in general, and the capacity to stimulate and facilitate stakeholders' participation in specific. It will also help local governments to change their attitudes. To paraphrase John F. C. Turner, their attitude should be a willingness to work with the people, instead of for the people, and certainly not for their own vested interests. New skills such as information and communication skills, including the use of modern media like the Internet, will be useful in building awareness and stimulating further participation of stakeholders. To support this it is necessary is to establish an accurate database on the various aspects of urban development, easily accessible to all relevant parties.
But it is not only local governments where more capacity and changed attitudes are required. The private sector needs to understand the importance of being able to compete fairly and openly. The patronage of government officials should not be relied upon anymore. Private companies will have to be able to compete not just with local, but also (in this era of globalisation) with international and multinational competitors.
And finally, turning to civil society, it is imperative that support is given to strengthen its bargaining position. This can be done by giving support to (i) help raise awareness and confidence amongst NGOs and local level and community organisations (ii) show what opportunities are available and (iii) build a network of similar, likeminded organisations which can speak with one voice. Local government can certainly play a role here in terms of providing relevant information and technical and management assistance. But for the time being it may be more realistic to rely on organisations such as the Legal Aid Foundation, the Consumers Group, and other advocacy groups, non-governmental organisations and universities. Capacity building for the people, however, should not be merely focused on their perceived weakness but should also, or perhaps in the first place, address the need to reinforce their existing strength (Aede, 1997).
To summarise, there are clear and urgent capacity building requirements relating both to the local government, the private sector and civil society. The question is whether and how the authorities will respond to these requirements. Before considering the prospects for this, recent political developments in
6. A changing context: political change in
The preparation of the Semarang Environmental Agenda coincided with a period of fundamental changes in
These changes offer vast opportunities, but the challenges are also overwhelming. The multidimensional crisis has forced the Indonesian people to look back and do some soul searching to try to find out what had gone wrong. Many ideas have been thrown around to solve
The citizens, however, have also become more outspoken in their demand for a local government that can deliver services, deliver them equitably, quickly and inexpensively, and without the people having to pay bribes. The cry for `reformasi’ (reforms), following the severe economic crisis and the even more serious political and social crises, have made the people more aware of their rights. Like people elsewhere in
Despite all that, however, the management of the city will continue to depend on the old bureaucracy for some time to come; a bureaucracy that, besides showing little ability to develop partnerships with other urban actors, is also notoriously corrupt. The local government, its agencies and its staff are ill prepared to deal with the challenges posed by new situation. Though there have been some half-hearted attempts at reforms, the bureaucracy basically still clings to its old ineficient, heavy-handed ways. Its attitude of `business as usual’, acting as if oblivious to the fact that Indonesia is facing a terrible crisis, arguably the worst in its history, has been widely criticised.
This has been the reason why the civil society continues to distrust the local government. Even international donor agencies - though not saying it openly - seem to share this view. The implementation of social safety net programmes for people hardest hit by the crisis brought this out very clearly. The donors practically by-passed local government agencies and went directly to non-governmental and community based organisations instead.
Therefore, with reformasi there is an even more pressing need for the local government to change, if it is to regain its credibility. The process of preparing the Environmental Agenda showed, however, that it is not very likely that the local government will change from within under its own initiative. It needs urging (from powerful bodies such as the World Bank for example); and it also needs critical inputs from partners such as non-governmental organisations, universities and other civil society organisations.
The
7. Conclusion[12]
For the urban stakeholders at the local level in
In
The current changes in the political situation in Indonesian will hopefully lead to a truly democratic society in which there are partnerships between and mechanisms of `checks and balances' among the urban actors. Otherwise,
Solving these problems is constrained by a serious lack of trust amongst the city's stakeholders, a lack of confidence in the local government, widespread corruption and the weak position of civil society organisations in relation to other actors.
The establishment of a credible government will help bring about urgently needed policy changes in the areas of human resource development, organisational development and in institutional and legal frameworks. Only with improved governance is there a chance for more attention for capacity building for improved governance, which can respond to the urgent capacity building requirements identified in this paper. And only then there is hope that
References
Aede, D. (1997).
Bailey, N., Barber, A., & MacDonald, K. (1995). Partnership Agencies in British Urban Policy.
Holmes, M., &
Jellinek, L., & Rustanto, B. (1999). Survival Strategies of the Javanese during the Economic Crisis. Unpublished Preliminary Report.
Osborne, D., & Gaebler, T. (1992). Reinventing Government.
Peltenburg, M., Davidson, F., Teerlink, H., & Wakely, P. (1996). Building Capacity for Better Cities.
Further reading
Anonymous (1979). Semarang: Masa Lalu, Masa Sekarang dan Masa Mendatang. Pemerintah Kotamadya Daerah Tingkat II Semarang, Semarang.
Anonymous (1997). Agenda 21 Indonesia*Strategi Nasional untuk Pembangunan Berkelanjutan. Kantor Menteri Negara Lingkungan Hidup, Jakarta.
Anonymous (1998). Agenda Lingkungan Semarang: Menuju kota yang berkelanjutan 1998}2003. Pemerintah Kotamadya Daerah Tingkat II Semarang dan Lembaga Penelitian Universitas Katolik Soegijapranata, Semarang.
International Council for Local Environmental Initiative (1996). The Local Agenda 21 Planning Guide: An Introduction to Sustainable Development Planning. ICLEI, IDRC, UNEP,
Jellinek, L. (1991). The Wheels of Fortune.
Lanti, A., & van der Hoff, R. (1997). 'The Integrated Urban Infrastructure Development Programme (IUIDP) in
Project INS/90/026 Formulation of Provincial Shelter Strategies to Strengthen the National Shelter Strategy of
[1] The Badan Pengendali Dampak Lingkungan Daerah (Bapedalda) is a local government agency responsible for environmental related issues. Its head reports directly to the mayor. However, within the local government there is also an environmental division (Bagian Lingkungan Hidup) whose responsibilities often overlap Bapedalda's.
[2] The local government played a dominant role in the selection of stakeholder representatives. For instance, only those non-governmental organisations not too critical to the government were invited. The three government-sanctioned parties were not invited, as they had no real political influence and were set up merely as proof that
[3] At first Bapedalda was not comfortable with the idea of involving non-government institutions in the preparation of the Agenda, but eventually it was convinced of the potential benefits of this approach.
[4] Only one CBO actually fulfilled this criterion. In
[5] The rukun tetangga is found in every community in
[6] A number of them acknowledged that this was the first time they were invited to take part in a discussion on policy issues by the local government. Originally, it was feared that the Bapedalda would suggest that the government controlled local legislative body represent the stakeholders.
[7] Program Jangka Menengah (PJM) in Indonesian
[8] In practice, as they lack the required capacity, local governments appoint consultants to do the job. This often gives
[9] The new law on local government has tried to address this issue by stipulating that at the village (rural and urban) level there will be a directly elected legislative body. In the old system the lowest legislative body is at the city level that was in reality a mere rubber stamp body.
[10] The new laws on local autonomy and revenue sharing will enable local authorities to draw up their own pay scales, instead of following the uniform one now e!ective nation wide. Some natural-resource-rich regions are already trying to attract professionals in central government organisations with o!ers of attractive salaries.
[11] Two new national laws have recently been passed. Thefirst one will give wider decision making power to the local government, while at the same time making them more accountable to their constituents. The local legislative body, which in the past was considered part of the local government, is now seen as a separate entity. The second law will give local governments considerably more revenue sharing power.
[12] I am indebted to Cor Dijkgraaf of IHS for the insights he gave me for this section. However, the views expressed are entirely my own
[13] There have been many cases, however, when these people become disappointed after returning to their regular working environment. The high hopes they had to be able to do something worthwhile with their newly acquired knowledge are often not in line with the rigid bureaucratic system.
