EVALUATING DEVELOPMENT PLANNING DELIBERATION (THE MUSRENBANG)AS A PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING PRACTICE IN INDONESIA

A CASE OF BATU CITY GOVERNMENT, EAST JAVA PROVINCE

Abstract

Deemed as a panacea of democracy disenchantment, Participatory Budgeting (PB) becomes a noteworthy mechanism that enables the common public to voice their rights in allocating public expenditures. Many studies have investigated PB proliferation by using different perspectives, yet are not able to provide a complete evaluation that brings about more comprehensive understanding. Thus, this study utilized four dimensions of PB in evaluating the Musrenbang-a PB practice in Indonesia-by taking a case of Batu City Government. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches within an exploratory sequential mixed methods design were employed to collect data through in-depth interview, nonparticipant observation, documentation, questionnaire, as well as assessment and evaluation sheets. The result disclosed that in general, the Batu City Government implemented the Musrenbang in a minimal arrangement. Within the dimension of financial/budgetary, the Musrenbang did not have adequate debated resources; specific allocation; and taxation policies. The evaluation of the participatory dimension comprising the subdimensions of citizen participation and local government participation revealed that the Musrenbang had not represented an advanced participatory practice yet. This encompassed variables of participation form; decision maker; participation of the excluded; monitoring and control; information sharing and dissemination; project completion; and legislative role. Furthermore, the Musrenbang did not pay much attention to intramunicipal decentralization; ruralization; and investment within the spatial/territorial dimension. A preferable result came from the normative/legal judicial dimension in which adequate laws and regulations had been stipulated to institutionalize the Musrenbang in a framework of national planning and budgeting.