Saturday, April 16, 2011

WATER CITY

Imagine if Jakarta is headed by a Chief Executive Officer CEO alias. What was in his head so he was given a budget of Rp 15 trillion to solve flooding? Immediately spent to build the canal? Not so. Spending the budget is the mindset of a bureaucrat. A bureaucrat might even come back a year later with complaints that the money is less. He is more accustomed to spend the budget. While there are still remaining at the end of the fiscal year, the rest should be spent.
A CEO would think differently. Once given a budget of that he would ask: "How much money can I return it later and how long their money back? How do I get it back? " That is supposed to be at the head of their respective governors, district heads, mayors, or any other city managers, especially now that government has no money. Should they be a CEO who has a way of thinking style alias entrepreneurs entrepreneur. Work is not to spend public money, but raising and return it.
Baltimore is a good case example. This city was once so depressed, even a local authority has a large debt. Ugly city, the population gradually left. Hotels empty, lonely business, and unemployment much. Gratitude, Baltimore did not choose the wrong person. Through direct elections, the people lifted William Schaefer as mayor of Baltimore. He is more of a CEO rather than bureaucrats. Through the political battles finally exclaimed Schaefer received strong support. He is assisted by a council that is very business-oriented economy, namely the Baltimore Economic Development Corporation. A city plan was prepared carefully. The problem, surely there will be many parties who are not happy because there are many people who have moved, evicted, provide the parking lot, and so forth. But, because of strong leadership, Schaefer immediately received support. He called all parties: the developer housing, transport entrepreneurs, owners of buildings, hospitals, restaurants, education, and so forth. He then invited James Rouse, an architect who built the Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston in the 1970s. Rouse then develop a plan: establish Baltimore as a city on the edge of water, aka waterfront city.
Harbor Place in Baltimore it was inaugurated on July 2, 1980. Not unexpectedly, once opened, the opening is visited by 500,000 people. Hotels full back, trading and re-crowded restaurant. Unemployment also successfully pressed. Money invested back much faster than expected. In that year alone 18 million people become tourists in Baltimore. In fact, the year that Disney visitors less than 14 million people.
Jakarta could be a giant dam town
Schaefer was not alone. In this world there are many local government leaders who have a great entrepreneurial spirit. Call it Richard Lugar and his successor, William Hudnut of Indianapolis. There was Georges-Eugene Haussman who built the city of Paris on the orders of Napoleon III. Also, Daniel H. Burnham Sr.. which to build Chicago as a beautiful city by the lake.
What about in Indonesia? Not berniatkah the regents, mayors and governors made history in the development of the city or region? I lowered Regent Lamongan, H. Masfuk that have a spirit like that in my program in ANteve. Masfuk working hard to change ways of thinking that serbabirokratis subordinates become CEOs of entrepreneurial business. Later you will see Lamongan different from other regions. Let's see Jakarta.
In topography, Jakarta, which has repeatedly overwritten flooding may have to accept as a town water. That is a sweet nickname if later Jakarta had to choose governors whose leadership more as a CEO rather than a bureaucrat. He must think of another function of a channel that is not only as the flood water channel, but tourist facilities are beautiful, safe, free from the threat of the thugs. He is also thinking about money collection system that is free from corruption, and so forth.
If later we failed to elect governors like that. We'll have a black note: our capital was in a giant pond.

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