April 24, 1999
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| April 24, 1999 | atimes.com | |
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| Southeast Asia World Bank loan a safety net for Golkar in elections? JAKARTA - The World Bank is set to approve a delayed $600 million ''social safety net'' adjustment loan on May 18, just weeks before the June 7 general election. It said the loan originally was delayed because the list of social safety net program policy reforms was not delivered until March 31. The Wold Bank's decision to disburse the fund before the elections drew criticism from vocal non-governmental organizations. They asked the bank to delay the disbursement until after the elections. Opposition parties fear the ruling Golkar party will use the money to support its reelection bid. World Bank country director for Indonesia Mark Baird told The Jakarta Post that relating the loan disbursement with the timing of the elections was irrelevant. He said the bank sought to put in place conditions to improve the effectiveness of the program by protecting the program's budget, improving the design of the program and establishing a monitoring strategy. By setting up these conditions, the bank wants to ensure that good programs get money while bad programs are improved or discontinued. It also wants to reduce leakage and ensure the programs reach the right targets. The World Bank's cummulative lending to Indonesia as of March 1999 amounted to almost $25 billion, with 75 active projects. Of the $25 billion, $19.8 billion has been disbursed and $8.2 billion has been repaid. Total commitments for the 75 active projects in 1999 stand at $8 billion, of which about $4.3 billion has yet to be disbursed. Indonesia's total outstanding debt to the World Bank is estimated at $12 billion - nearing the bank's $13.5 billion loan ceiling for a member country. (Asia Pulse/ANTARA) | |||||||||
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