President asks Jakarta governor to deal with traffic jams

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has asked newly-installed Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo to seriously look for a breakthrough to deal with worsening traffic jams in the capital.

"The President has given directives to develop Jakarta conceptually and in a well-planned and integrated way in order to deal with various problems, especially traffic jams," Fauzi said at the Presidential Office here on Wednesday after meeting the Head of State.

Fauzi said he and Deputy Governor Prijanto met the President to report various issues, including on middle and long term plans for the development of Jakarta.

"The development plans will of course refer to the integrated concepts of development made by the central government and the autonomous regions surrounding Jakarta," the new governor said.

Fauzi also reported to the President preparations made by the Jakarta administration to welcome the Islamic Festivity of Eid Fitr.

"We are working hard to make the Eid Fitr celebration convenient for all Jakarta residents and those going back to their home towns," he said.

The President also reminded the governor of the city administration`s commitment to deal with floods which were frequently hit Jakarta.

"With various breakthroughs we hope that floods will no longer hit Jakarta in the future," Fauzi said.

However, he admitted it would be difficult to totally solve the flood problem and therefore, careful preparations would be needed to handle floods in cooperation with the military, police and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

In the meeting, the President also told the governor how to deal with the problems of poverty and unemployment in Jakarta.

The President said there were still many poor people in Jakarta and the city administration must help improve the dignity and welfare of its residents including the poor.

The Jakarta administration and the central government would construct more apartments for low-income residents in the future, he said.

"On regreening program, he (the President) hopes Jakarta can be greener in the future. And it will be our priority to implement it," the governor said.

According to Fauzi, President Yudhoyono welcomed his report about his administration`s efforts to implement good governance in the capital city by being more transparent, including in spending the city`s budget, and improving the accountability.

The governor said Jakarta has applied e-government and e-announcement systems, where around 80 percent of the projects could be monitored by the public through the Internet.

"Based on our reports and the directives given by the President, the Head of State hopes Jakarta will serve as a good model for other regional administrations in implementing good governance," Fauzi said.