City administration told to withdraw 'Dekel' funds<\/p>\n
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The city administration has been urged to withdraw Rp 130 billion
\nof aid funds for 167 subdistricts amid widespread corruption by
\nsubdistrict officials and members of the subdistrict
\nrepresentatives (Dekel).<\/p>\n
\"What happened in Serdang subdistrict is only one of many
\nexamples of the corruption of aid funds for subdistricts,\"
\nJakarta Residents Forum (Fakta) chairman Azas Tigor Nainggolan
\ntold The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Tigor referred to the misuse of the Subdistrict Community
\nEmpowerment Fund (PPMK) by Agus Sugito, Dekel chairman in Serdang
\nsubdistrict, Central Jakarta who is now being detained by the
\npolice.<\/p>\n
Sugito was accused of corrupting Rp 700 million of PPMK money,
\nwhich he allegedly used to build a house for his mistress and on
\noverseas travel.<\/p>\n
The other irregularities include the alleged misuse of Rp 90
\nmillion by Kelapa Dua subdistrict council chief, who used the
\nmoney to repair his home, and in Pluit, North Jakarta, where the
\nmoney was used to repair subdistrict office buildings.<\/p>\n
The PPMK program was launched in 2001 for only 25 subdistricts
\nwith funds totaling around Rp 2 billion. In 2002, all
\nsubdistricts received the funds, with each receiving Rp 250
\nmillion in aid per year.<\/p>\n
In 2003, the amount of money was increased to Rp 500 million
\nper subdistrict, although there were many reports about the
\nmisuse of the money by subdistrict representatives.<\/p>\n
Similar calls came from Tubagus Haryo Karbiyanto, the head of
\nurban affairs division at the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH).
\nHe stressed the need to stop the program temporarily until the
\ncity administration found a better mechanism to disburse money to
\nthe poor in the subdistricts.<\/p>\n
He shared Tigor's idea that unspent money be withdrawn while
\nthe distributed funds were audited.<\/p>\n
Tubagus said the program was ridden with corruption as
\ndisbursement of the money by Dekel was not transparent in that
\nonly Dekel members and officials in the subdistricts knew how the
\nmoney was spent or otherwise.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Governor Sutiyoso said he would go ahead with the
\naid program, saying that in general the money was useful to the
\npoor as it was used to improve small businesses.<\/p>\n
\"I will not stop the program only because of one or two
\nirregularities,\" Sutiyoso said, asking the people to take part in
\nsupervising the use of the aid funds.<\/p>\n
Tigor, however, stressed the need to withdraw and temporarily
\nstop the aid program. He said a transparent evaluation was needed
\nto see whether the program was effective in empowering the poor.<\/p>\n
Tigor said that by withdrawing all the money from the
\nsubdistricts, the city administration would know whether the
\nmoney was used properly or not by the Dekel members.<\/p>\n
\"Based on my observations, I can say that the majority of the
\nmoney did not reach the poor people as it is was only distributed
\namong the elite of the subdistricts or among the families of
\nDekel members.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/city-administration-told-to-withdraw-dekel-funds-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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