JAKARTA, Indonesia — The United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Ministry of Home Affairs has announced a new program to help local governments deliver quality public services in such areas as health services, nutrition, sanitation, and education.
The $38.5 million (Rp 550 billion) USAID Tata Kelola Pemerintahan yang Efektif, Efisien, dan Kuat (USAID ERAT) program will work with national, provincial, and district governments across Indonesia to promote accountability, standardize and fully implement policies, and effectively plan and monitor budgets. The five-year program will support 30 districts across North Sumatra, Banten, East Java, West Kalimantan, South Sulawesi, and East Nusa Tenggara provinces.
“The U.S. government, through USAID, is pleased to contribute to the Government of Indonesia’s efforts to improve transparent governance of services for better community health, opportunity, and prosperity,” said USAID Indonesia Mission Director Jeff Cohen. “We are building on two decades of partnership with the Government of Indonesia, the private sector, civil society, and the Indonesian people for inclusive local governance, responsiveness, and accountability.”
Through consultation and participatory workshops, USAID ERAT will strengthen communications, coordination, and collaboration among all levels of government, sharing data and information to plan for effective services. With USAID support, local governments will engage with the private sector and civil society for quality public services and increase chances for citizens to have a say in how funding is budgeted and spent. USAID ERAT will promote gender equality, social inclusion, and public private partnership in all program activities.
“The USAID ERAT collaboration program is an effort to improve and strengthen local governance, not only regarding administrative policies, but also how to connect relevant stakeholders to create better governance,” said Dr. Heriyandi Roni, M.Si., head of the Ministry of Home Affairs Facilitation of Cooperation Center. “The key word for good governance is collaboration. Collaboration requires fluid communication between stakeholders to generate coherent policy,” he added.
USAID is the premier international development agency of the U.S. government and leads international development and humanitarian efforts to save lives, reduce poverty, strengthen democratic governance and help people become resilient.
For more information, visit usaid.gov/Indonesia or contact USAID Communications Officer at +62 (21) 50831000 or sandina@usaid.gov.
USAID ERAT