Advertising scams may drag down 30 city officials<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Governor Sutiyoso has instructed the City
\nInspectorate Agency to investigate 30 city officials allegedly
\ninvolved in corruption cases at the just-dissolved Outdoor
\nAdvertising Review Team (TPTPR).<\/p>\n
\"I have instructed the inspectorate agency to conduct the
\ninvestigation. I have personally summoned a number of city
\nofficials concerning the matter, but a decision has yet to be
\nmade.<\/p>\n
\"We (the city administration) will always follow up on
\ninformation or complaints from city residents, but we must
\nproceed carefully,\" he told reporters after addressing the
\nopening ceremony of the Governor's Cup National Wrestling Junior
\nChampionship at Ragunan Sports Stadium in South Jakarta on
\nSaturday.<\/p>\n
\"We will take stern action against any officials who are
\nproven to have been involved in such cases,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Separately, City Inspector Hendarmin Ono Saleh said the
\ninspectorate agency was still investigating the case.<\/p>\n
\"We're still investigating the case and have to wait for one
\nor two weeks for the final result,\" he said when asked about
\nreports saying that 30 officials would be sacked.<\/p>\n
Earlier on Friday, the assistant to the city secretary on
\nAdministration Affairs, Ma'mun Amin, said the governor would
\nremove 30 officials from their current positions.<\/p>\n
\"We will not dismiss them as city administration employees,
\nbut we'll remove them from their current positions,\" Amin told
\nreporters.<\/p>\n
\"Some of them have admitted that they asked for illegal levies
\nfrom advertising agencies to help smoothen the issuance of
\npermits to place their billboard advertisements,\" he said on the
\nsidelines of a plenary meeting at the City Council building to
\npass the 2000 City Budget.<\/p>\n
Unconfirmed reports said the highest official to be affected
\nby the investigation was the assistant to the City Secretary for
\nDevelopment Affairs, Ongky Sukasah, who was a former TPTPR
\nchairman.<\/p>\n
Ongky reportedly received a share of the illegal levies. He
\nonce told city councillors that he had used the money to finance
\nthe city administration-sponsored Persija soccer team.<\/p>\n
Deputy Governor for Administration Affairs Abdul Kahfi, who is
\na member of the soccer team's board of patrons, denied the
\nallegations. Ongky later rescinded his statement.<\/p>\n
Amin said the governor had assigned him to design a new system
\nfor acquiring advertising licenses.<\/p>\n
\"I have two weeks to design a system which will provide a
\nsimple mechanism for advertising agencies and at the same time
\nminimize corruption practices,\" he said.<\/p>\n
One of the victims of such \"complicated\" bureaucracy in
\nobtaining billboard permits is the manufacturer of So Klin
\ndetergent, whose 80 advertisements at bus stops all over Jakarta
\nwere taken down on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The advertising agencies involved, PT. Kartika Karunia and PT.
\nPrima Jaya, have yet to obtain licenses for the advertisements.<\/p>\n
The agencies registered for the billboard advertisements in
\nOctober and November last year. They, however, decided to go
\nahead with the promotion in January without the required permits.<\/p>\n
According to the city's advertising regulations, advertising
\nagencies can consider their applications approved if there are no
\nanswers, approvals or rejections after 30 days.<\/p>\n
Governor Sutiyoso decided to dissolve TPTPR last Tuesday
\nbecause of its overly complicated procedures in issuing permits
\nfor outdoor advertisements.<\/p>\n
An advertisement agency, for example, has to go to separate
\ncity agencies to get different types of approval.<\/p>\n
Such a procedure, Sutiyoso said, opened up the possibility of
\ncorruption.<\/p>\n
Outdoor advertisement licenses are now being handled solely by
\nthe City Revenue Agency. (09\/nvn)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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