8/9/2019 INFIDS STATEMENT THE IRONY OF INDONESIAS 65 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

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( NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, Ref. No : D1035 )Jl. Jati Padang Raya Kav.3 No.105, Pasar Minggu, Jakarta Selatan 12540 - Indonesia

Phone (62-21) 781 9734, 781 9735 * Fax (62-21) 7884 4730 * E-mail: infid@infid.org * www.infid.org

INFIDSSTATEMENTTHEIRONYOFINDONESIAS65YEARSOFINDEPENDENCE,SOVEREIGNTYTHREATENEDBYDONORINTERVENTION

AfewdaysleftbeforeIndonesiacommemoratesits65yearsofindependence.Amidstamultidimensional

crisisthatcontinuestoplightIndonesia,amongothersmountingforeigndebt,unrelentinghighratesof

poverty, unbridled corruption and the plundering of natural resources, the countrys spirit of

independenceandsovereigntyshouldbeabletoliftitoutofthismultifacetedcrisis.

It is ironic however, that as Indonesia approaches 65 years of selfrule, the nation is shorn of its

independenceandsovereigntyduetotheWorldBanksinterventionintheadministrationofthecountry.

This week, the World Bank has warned several districts and municipalities in West Nusa Tenggara

Province on having failed to establish the Extension ImplementingAgency (Bappeluh). (The World

BankTellsOffDistrictsforNotEstablishingBappeluh,ANTARA,11August2010).

Theestablishment

of

Bappeluh

is

one

of

the

requirements

imposed

by

the

World

Bank

on

districts

and

municipalities implementing the Farmer Empowerment through Agricultural Technology and

Information(FEATI)program.Anotherrequirementwhich theIndonesiangovernmentmustmeet isto

preparecounterpartfundsworthUSD30.8millionthroughthenationalandlocalbudgets.FEATIisthe

WorldBanks loan totheIndonesiangovernmentamountingUSD92.8millionentered into throughan

agreementsignedon28March2007.

Withregardtothis,INFIDassertsthattheWorldBanksreprimandofdistrictsandmunicipalitieswhich

havefailedtosetuptheBappeluhprovestodemonstrateWorldBanksarroganceasadonoragencyin

implementing itsprograms in Indonesia.TheParisDeclaration onDevelopmentEffectivenessplainly

states thatdonors commit to respect country leadershipandhelp strengthen their capacity toexercise

it/ownership.

IntheJakartaCommitmentsignedbytheWorldBank,itisalsostatedthatdevelopmentpartnerswillalignthemselvesmorefullywithGovernmentprogramsandsystems.Developmentpartnerswillaligntheir programming cycles with those of government, use the government format for reporting their

assistance,andincreasinglyusethegovernmentsfinancialmanagementandprocurementsystem.When

theydonotmakeuseofsystems,developmentpartnerswilltransparentlystatetheirrationalefornotusinggovernmentsystemsandindicatehowtheywillworkwiththeGovernment(includingthrough

mailto:infid@infid.orgmailto:infid@infid.org

8/9/2019 INFIDS STATEMENT THE IRONY OF INDONESIAS 65 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

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capacity development) to align in the future. In the spirit of partnership, we will also encouragedevelopmentpartnerstofully,sincerelyandtransparentlyuntietheiraid.

Inview of this, theWorldBanksmove is clearly in contradictionwith theParisDeclaration and the

JakartaCommitment,andisaformofdonorinterventiononIndonesiasdevelopmentsovereignty.

TheWorld

Banks

intervention

on

the

development

sovereignty

of

Indonesia

is

not

merely

confined

to

program implementationbutalsoonthedevelopmentgoal itself.Asthesecond largestcreditoramong

multilateral financial institutions after ADB in Indonesia, theWorld Bank provides loans for several

sectorsincludingagriculture.

AnINFIDstudyonseveralprojectsandprogramsfinancedthroughWorldBankloanshasrevealedthat

theseagendashavefailedtobringaboutanypositivedevelopment impactbut insteadhavebecomean

increasingly burdensome debt. INFIDs research on PNPM (National Program on Community

Empowerment)hasshownthattheprogramfocusesmoreonphysicaldevelopmentwhiledisregarding

the social capital put togetherby the community. PNPM has instead shattered the collective values

emerging fromand sharedamongmembersof society.Thisalsoholds true for theJakartaEmergency

DredgingInitiative

(JEDI)

financed

by

loans

for

the

dredging

of

13

rivers

in

Jakarta.

INFIDs

research

yet

againfoundthatJEDIisineffectiveinsolvingthefloodingproblemsandhasimposedaheavierforeign

debtburdenonthegovernmentofIndonesiaastheeffectofriverdredgingwillonlylastsforamaximum

offiveyearswhereasthegovernmentmustrepaytheloansforaspanoftenyears.

Bearingthisinmind,INFIDurgesthegovernmentofIndonesiatodesistfrombowingto theonesided

wishes of theWorld Bank and other donorswhich clearly pose a threat to Indonesias political and

economicsovereignty.INFIDalsoinsiststhattheWorldBankceasesallformsofpolicyinterventionsthat

interferewithIndonesiaspoliticalandeconomicsovereignty.

Jakarta,12August2010

Sincerely,

DonKMarutExecutiveDirector

Formoreinformationpleasecontact:

WahyuSusilo INFIDProgramManager

(081510392859)