Agency questioned about money usage<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The City Council has accused the City Transportation Agency of
\nintending to wrongfully use Rp 8.4 billion earmarked for the
\npurchase of boats for the Seribu islands to finance the
\nrenovation of seaports in the islands.<\/p>\n
A member of City Council Commission D for development affairs,
\nAmarullah Asbach, said that projects mentioned in the city budget
\ncould not be changed without consultation with the City Council
\nas they were jointly decided by the executive and the council.<\/p>\n
"If money is allocated for the procurement of boats, it cannot
\nbe used for developing seaports. That could be construed as fund
\nmanipulation," Amarullah said at a hearing with officials of the
\nCity Transportation Agency on Monday.<\/p>\n
Amarullah was commenting on the project report of the City
\nTransportation Agency presented during the hearing.<\/p>\n
In the city budget, the Rp 8.4 billion was allocated for
\npurchasing vessels for sea transportation in Seribu islands
\nregency. But in the progress report, the money was used for
\nupgrading seaports on Kelapa and Lancang islands.<\/p>\n
Amarullah said the City Council would question the use of the
\nmoney in the annual progress reports of the city budget
\nimplementation.<\/p>\n
"The City Council may annul any agency's projects not
\nmentioned in the city budget," he added.<\/p>\n
The 2002 city budget allocates Rp 106.904 billion to the City
\nTransportation Agency. The busway project will take up Rp 51.82
\nbillion of the allocation.<\/p>\n
Responding to Amarullah's complaint, the head of the city
\ntransportation agency, Rustam Effendi, said a mistake had been
\nmade in the report presented to the City Council on Monday.<\/p>\n
"My staff made a mistake. The truth is that the money will
\nstill be used for purchasing boats," he said<\/p>\n
Amarullah, however, questioned Rustam's statement, saying an
\nofficial could not claim it was a mistake when the report had
\nalready been presented to the City Council.<\/p>\n
Other issues raised by legislators during the hearing included
\nthe lack of process in the construction of the busway, which is
\nscheduled to be operational in October, and the controversial
\ndevelopment of the Pulo Gebang bus terminal in East Jakarta.<\/p>",
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