In order to formulate Local Government Work Plan which functions as an annual planning document, local government needs to conduct Multi Stakeholder Consultation Forum for Development Planning (Musrenbang) in all levels starting from the village to sub-district, and then continued to district/city, and finally provincial level and also held Forum of Local Government Work Unit (SKPD Forum). 

 

As for formulating the Government Work Plan which functions as an annual national planning document, the government needs to conduct central Musrenbang, provincial Musrenbang, and national Musrenbang. All inputs from these Musrenbang are needed because they will influence development activities related to local funding or activities budget.

In this stage of planning and budgeting, we have to make sure that women participate by expressing their needs. We must ensure that women or women groups participate in every Musrenbang so that their needs and interests are represented.

 

The National Planning and Budgeting System
“Where Are the Women’s Voices?”

The stages in the national planning system are:

1. The Stage of Preparation of Planning
2. The Stage of Planning and Budgeting
3. The Stage of Implementing Development Activities and Government Expenditure
4. The Stage of Reporting and Accountability Reporting 

THE PLANNING STAGE
The planning stage includes these two stages:

1. The collection of people’s aspirations through Musrenbang from the village to sub-district Level. 
2. The determination of direction and policy through the Local Government Work Unit (SKPD) from district and city level to provincial level.

 

THE PREPARATION OF PLANNING STAGE

In this stage, the heads of government from the village to national level establish Musrenbang committee. This team will be the one who drafts the schedule and agenda of Musrenbang and announces or invites participants seven days prior to the meeting so that the participants can register themselves first. This team will also prepare the materials and meeting minutes. This Musrenbang is the forum to collect people’s aspirations.

For the preparation of SKPD, the Head of Local Development Planning Agency (Bappeda) as the head of the committee will decide the procedures of the forum. This team will compile priority list which is set by sub-district Musrenbang, identify priority list, and estimate the cost of each priority activity or commonly known as General Policy Directions (AKU). Besides, the team will also announce or invite participants seven days prior to the meeting. The participants are those who become the delegates of sub-district Musrenbang and community groups who work in the fields related to SKPD functions in the district/city level.

At this stage of the preparation of planning, we also need to make sure that women participate in expressing their needs. We must ensure that women or women groups participate in every Musrenbang so that their needs and interests are represented.

 

The Multi Stakeholder Consultation Forum for Development Planning
A. The Collection of People’s Aspirations through Musrenbang (Multi Stakeholder Consultation Forum for Development Planning)

The stages of Musrenbang are:

• The village Musrenbang is held in January when people’s aspirations can be collected through dialog or discussion between community groups. Women and women groups have to participate to include their needs agenda in the Musrenbang.

The outcome of the Musrenbang at this stage is the determination of development priority activities for the upcoming year according to the potential and problems in the respective village. In this stage, 3-5 delegates from the participants of the village Musrenbang are also chosen to attend the sub-district Musrenbang. According to the Minister of Development Planning/the Head of National Development Planning Agency and Minister of Home Affairs, women have to be in the composition of delegates. For that reason, it has to be ensured that there are women’s representatives. 

• The sub-district Musrenbang is held in February and the outcomes of this Musrenbang set the list of development priority activity in the sub-district area. The development priority activity is made in line with SKPD functions and the determination of budget which will be funded by local government budget and other funding sources.

The result of this priority list will be given by each delegate to the people in each of the village.
In this stage, delegates to join the SKPD forum and Musrenbang in district/city will also be chosen. We have to make sure that women’s representatives are in the delegation.

• The Local Government Work Unit (SKPD) Forum of district/city is held between February and March.

The outcomes of this forum are:

• An SKPD Work Plan that contains regulation framework and SKPD budget framework which in the end acts as Local Government Work Plan (RKPD)
• Priority activities which are selected based on funding source from district/city APBD, provincial APBD, and APBN.
• Assign delegates by considering the composition of women to join district/city Musrenbang. 
• District/City Musrenbang is held throughout March.

The outcomes of this district/city Musrenbang are:

• Policy direction, development priorities, and budget ceiling based on the functions of SKPD.
• Priority lists which have been discussed in SKPD forum.
• List of policy/regulation proposal in district/city, province, and central government.
• Funding draft for village fund allocation.
• In the attempt to keep the consistency of outcomes in the form of RKPD, multi-stakeholder forum is held after the Musrenbang attended by the delegates representing the people, local government, and DPRD. Besides, the forum also serves to give an explanation on the acceptance or rejection of the proposed activities.

 

• The provincial SKPD forum is held in March

The outcomes of this forum are:

• SKPD Work Plans (Renja-SKPD) which contain regulation and budget framework for provincial SKPD.
• Combining the district/city development priorities with the development priorities list in provincial SKPD.
• Identifying the district/city development activity priorities which are in line with the prioritized development activity in provincial SKPD. 
• The forum also assigns delegates by considering the composition of women to join the provincial Musrenbang.

 

• The national Musrenbang in March

The outcomes are:

• Government-wide Work Plans (RKP)
• Ministry/Agency-specific Work Plans (Renja-KL) which are based on the existing National Medium-term Development Plan (RPJM). 
• The participants are all ministries/ non-department government agencies and all governors (Attn: Head of Provincial Local Development Planning Agency) as observers.

 

•  The provincial Musrenbang in April is the stage for the provincial RKPD update and also the stage of synchronizing the RKP and Renja-KL with the provincial RKPD and district/city RKPD.

• The national Musrenbang (Musrenbangnas) is held in April and in this stage, the results of the provincial Musrenbang are delivered to all ministries/agencies, governors and heads of Provincial Local Development Planning Agency to be agreed upon as priority programs for national development, priorities of RAPBN funding, and final draft of RKP to be delivered and discussed in cabinet meeting.

 

B. The Stipulation of Policy Direction through SKPD FORUM is based on:

1. The RPJMD (Local Government Medium-term Development Plans) and the RKPD (Local Government Work Plan).
2. The essential thought of DPRD.
3. The RPJMN (National Government Medium-term Development Plans).
4. The inputs from the people (women) through public hearing, lobby, and campaign.

 

The Criteria of General Budgetary Policy (KUA) of local government budget (APBD) drafting are:

1. According to visions, missions, goals, targets, and policies which are in line with the RPJMD, RKPD, and other related planning documents.
2. Containing direction and general policy which is agreed upon as a guideline to draft the strategy and priority of the APBD.
3. In need to be flexible in its drafting with an elaboration that gives opportunity for development in its implementation. The stipulation of APBD strategy and priority which is the drafting of budget policy is drafted based on APVD policy direction.
4. Having a local policy whose visions, mission, and targets aimed at reducing gender inequality.

 

The Reasons for APBD Priority Drafting

1. So that the scale and the most desirable needs of the people can be accommodated.
2. So that the allocation of resources can be done economically, efficiently, and effectively to improve people’s welfare including women’s welfare.
3. So that a more realistic program or activity which is based on people’s needs, including women’s needs, can be drafted especially the programs that affect people’s lives directly. 

The Implementation Stage

The important thing that has to be criticized in budgeting is the fact that 80% of the budget is allocated for the officials’ needs which is called as Regular Budget like official expenditure which includes the expenditures on employee, expenditures on goods and services, expenditures on official travel, and expenditures on maintenance. Only 20% of the budget is allocated for the expenditures on public services.

In this, it is important for the people to participate and get involved in the process of budgeting from the planning stage to the implementing stage to make sure that 80% of the budget should be allocated for programs aimed at improving people’s welfare and only 20% of the budget should be used for financing official expenditure.

 

The Obstacles Faced by Women in Participating

• The chance to include women’s aspirations is during planning stage which is the first stage to gather people’s aspirations.
• However, in reality, this process is not designed to make the voices of poor women heard. For women who are not involved in organizations or women who are not used to speak up their interests, it is hard to utilize this process. 
• In stage II, the stipulation of General Budgetary Policies (KUA), women’s issues are once again neglected because of the failure to include analysis of women’s issues in the RPJMD and/or RKPD.
• To ensure that the needs and interests of women are truly included in the national and local planning and budgeting, we need to conduct capacity building programs for women and women’s organizations.

The capacity building programs for women and women’s organizations are aimed at helping women to understand their rights and responsibilities in the planning process and most importantly, so that women and women’s organizations are able to include gender interests in the agenda of the local and national planning process.

The Efforts to Include Women’s Interests in Budgetary Process
The Steps in the Preparatory Stage

1. The availability of categorized data on women’s issues in each area.
2. Women and women’s groups have to do gender analysis of development works in their area.
3. Women and women’s groups have to disseminate the understanding of inequality which is resulted from inequality in gender relation in each area.
4. Women and women’s groups actively engaged in the process of Musrenbang from village level to national and provincial level.
5. Women and women’s organization have to continuously monitor the outcomes of each Musrenbang to ensure that women’s interests are consistently made as development priority activities in each area. 

The Steps in the Implementation Stage

1. Observing whether programs or projects have achieved the targets planned at the initial stage by taking into account women’s interests. 
2. Seeing whether budget allocation is implemented according to the allocated budget in APBD (How much is the actual values from the existing budget? Has the tender been operated in a transparent and accountable way? Are women engaged in development activities?) Are the beneficiaries of the program the right targets and can the impacts of the program be measured to improve people’s welfare including women’s welfare?
3. If there is a deviation in the implementation, it is better that the people, including women, deliver their complaints to authorized institutions (police officers, the Audit Board of the Republic of Indonesia (BPK), local supervisory board (Bawasda), Board of Finance and Development Supervision (BPKP)).

The proofs of deviation can be used as advocacy resources for next year’s regional election.

 

The Monitoring and the Evaluation Stages

1. The people, including women, have to be critical in reviewing the accountability reports of the head of local government, governor/regent.
2. The annual report is to be obtained before being discussed by the council and being decided as accepted or rejected. 
3. In reviewing critically, the indicators used have to be clear. Has the government in conducting its activities taken into account women’s representation? It is also better to compare between the written report and the field performance. If there is a high degree of deviation and lie, it can be advocated so that the report is rejected, or at least revised. ***