Auditors find no markup in elevator purchase<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto, Jakarta<\/p>\n
There were no irregularities in the procurement of a new elevator
\nfor the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta, the Jakarta
\nAudit Agency said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, eight Jakarta councillors called on the agency
\nto perform an audit following allegations there had been a markup
\nin the price of the elevator by the Jakarta Culture and Museum
\nAgency.<\/p>\n
\"We did not discover any irregularities in the procurement of
\nthe elevator,\" audit agency head Firman Hutajulu said at City
\nHall on Thursday.<\/p>\n
He showed a copy of the city's 2003 work plan indicating the
\nadministration had planned since the beginning to use Chinese-
\nmade (Japanese) Hitachi elevator to replace the old one, which
\nwas in service from 1994 to last year.<\/p>\n
The 2003 city budget had specified the cost of buying and
\ninstalling the new elevator was Rp 1.7 billion (US$196,532).<\/p>\n
Councillors had alleged the presence of a markup, following
\ntheir finding the elevator \"had different specifications from the
\nproduct type as stipulated\" in the city budget.<\/p>\n
The allegations arose after the Monas elevator experienced
\ntechnical problems twice since it began service in January. On
\nSunday, the new Chinese-made Hitachi elevator jammed when the
\nautomatic lock on the elevator door was damaged after visitors
\ncrammed into the elevator. The jam trapped dozens of tourists
\non the 117-meter high Monas tower's observation deck for about
\ntwo hours.<\/p>\n
Earlier on March 23, dozens of kindergarten students were
\ntrapped inside the elevator after the power went off.<\/p>\n
Firman said the new elevator was equipped with a five-year
\nwarranty and supporting technicians were available to back up its
\noperation. He could not give details on the old elevator's
\nspecifications.<\/p>\n
He pointed the finger at Monas management head Surya Darma
\nBasri for his failure in anticipating a massive influx of
\nvisitors on Sunday and said overcrowding had led to the break
\ndown.<\/p>\n
\"The incident was purely caused by human error. No technical
\nfailure was involved,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Firman said his agency had quizzed five members of the Monas
\nmanagement team about the incident.<\/p>\n
Following Sunday's elevator breakdown, Governor Sutiyoso had
\nordered the Monas management to stop the elevator's operation for
\na month starting on May 5 for repairs. However, Monas staff were
\ncontinuing to operate the elevator on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso said he would issue a written order to the Monas
\nmanagement to close down the elevator.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/auditors-find-no-markup-in-elevator-purchase-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}