Services and development in five Indonesian middle cities

EACH CITY IS THE CAPITAL OF ITS PROVINCE AND IS THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CENTER OF ITS REGION. DATA FOR EACH CITY WERE COLLECTED ON THE FOLLOWING SERVICES: POWER, WATER AND SEWERAGE, ROADS AND BRIDGES, EDUCATION, TERMINALS, HEALTH, COMMUNICATIONS, MARKETS, PUBLIC SAFETY, SOCIAL WELFARE, AND RECREATION. TABLES IN THIS REPORT DISPLAY AGGREGATE AMOUNTS OF EXPENDITURES, USAGE, CHARGES, THE ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCIES INVOLVED, AND THEIR BUDGETS. CONCLUSIONS FROM THE STUDY ARE: (1) IF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT IS TO DECENTRALIZE DEVELOPMENT RESPONSIBILITY, CITIES NEED INCREASED TAXATION POWER OR GUARANTEED TRANSFERS OF FUNDS FROM HIGHER GOVERNMENTS, SO THE CITY GOVERNMENTS CAN PLAN AND IMPLEMENT LONG-TERM DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS. (2) CITY GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS ARE IN NEED OF TRAINING IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCES. (3) A KEY INGREDIENT OF A NATIONAL POLICY THAT WILL UTILIZE THE POTENTIAL OF THE CITIES FOR CONTRIBUTING TO DEVELOPMENT IS A UNIFIED STRATEGY OF NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT.