I can't see how all this planning I'm meant to be helping with is going to benefit the community when only 13% of Jeneponto's budget is available for projects, with the rest being swallowed by civil servant wages. When I see waste on that level, I feel like I'm being taken for a bit of a mug.
What's worse, I think that international NGOs, with the best intentions, are contributing to the problem. There's a dependency culture, with the shortcomings of the government being papered over by NGOs. Where's the incentive to improve government systems, when UK/Canada/Japan/Australia etc will step in when the government wants to implement a project? All the resources required to help Jeneponto are present in Indonesia - so why are we sending volunteers here?
Bantaeng, just up the road, has a forestry office of 40 people. And there is still some forest in Bantaeng. So what are the 100 plus people in forestry in Jeneponto doing exactly? Every time I go into the office and see only 2 people working, and the rest watching TV, chatting or sleeping, I think of why I came half way across the world to help Jeneponto.
I feel sorry for a lot of colleagues, who do want to work and help the community, but are let down by a corrupt and ill-managed goverment system, and are not empowered to change things.
There's personal feelings too - I've never felt at home in Jeneponto, and I think the culture here is just too different from mine. I think I may be particularly British, and Jeneponto might be particularly Indonesian.
I've been trying to think of things I'll miss. Some colleagues, the guys at local NGO Mitra Turatea, the other VSO volunteers, riding around the coast and mountains on my motorbike. I don't think I'll be too sad to leave Jeneponto itself, as I've no great affection for the place, but I've had some good times in Bali, Bira and Malino.
The saddest thing is that, at the moment, I don't think I believe in development in Indonesia any more. I don't regret doing this - I'd regret not having done it a lot more - but spending another 12 months here would drive me mad.
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| Rice fields, sunset, Malino |
