City rapped for hiking budget but ignoring public interests<\/p>\n
Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The city administration was rebuked on Wednesday for trying to
\nsqueeze more money out of the public by increasing taxes while at
\nthe same time being incapable of spending Rp 2.1 trillion of the
\nRp 9.7 trillion 2002 City Budget on projects that would benefit
\nthe public.<\/p>\n
\"They only think about how to make money from taxes, but they
\ndon't know how to use it the money in the public interest,\" Urban
\nPoor Consortium (UPC) chairwoman Wardah Hafidz told The Jakarta
\nPost on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The UPC and a number of non-governmental organizations (NGO)
\ngrouped in the NGO Alliance for Budget Transparency (KOTA)
\npreviously sued the Jakarta administration and the City Council
\nover the 2000 City Budget. But the court rejected the lawsuit.<\/p>\n
Wardah viewed the city administration as being a stranger to
\nproper planning. Instead, they only planned how to spend public
\nfunds on projects proposed by city offices and agencies, and how
\nto make money from the projects.<\/p>\n
She also predicted that the majority of city councillors might
\nat first reject and protest the project proposals contained in
\nthe budget, but would finally accept the budget after having been
\npaid off.<\/p>\n
\"So, we should not expect the councillors to urge a review of
\nthe budget. The public has to protest directly about the budget,\"
\nshe asserted.<\/p>\n
The city administration on Monday announced that the 2003
\nBudget would amount to Rp 10.6 trillion, including Rp 2.1
\ntrillion left over from the 2002 budget.<\/p>\n
It claimed that 30 percent of next year's budget would be used
\nto cover the cost of running the apparatus while the remainder
\nwould be used for public spending.<\/p>\n
Finance Assistant to the City Secretary Makmun Amin said on
\nWednesday that some Rp 700 billion of the Rp 2.1 trillion
\noriginated from this year's revenues, while the remaining Rp 1.5
\ntrillion, or 13 percent of the 2002 budget, consisted of unspent
\ndevelopment allocations.<\/p>\n
He said the increase in revenue under the 2003 budget was
\nunavoidable as some of it was due to tax hikes, which were the
\nresponsibility of the central government, while the increase in
\nthe number of vehicles here had also contributed to the rise in
\nrevenue.<\/p>\n
The administration has predicted it will receive Rp 4.5
\ntrillion in revenue next year, mostly from vehicle taxes, land
\nand property taxes, and hotel, restaurant and entertainment
\ntaxes. It also expected to receive Rp 4 trillion in general
\nallocation fund payments from the central government.<\/p>\n
Separately, councillor Muhayar of the Justice Party also
\ncriticized the administration over the unspent money.<\/p>\n
\"It shows poor management by the city administration,\" said
\nMuhayar, who is also a member of the council's Commission D for
\ndevelopment affairs, on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
He blasted the administration for the slow tender processes
\ninvolved in many of the projects and inaccurate estimates for
\nland appropriation, which had caused the failure to carry out the
\nprojects.<\/p>\n
Many projects, such as Governor Sutiyoso's much-touted busway
\nproject and land appropriations for the East Flood Canal project
\nand public parks, could not be realized this year.<\/p>\n
The administration plans to submit the 2003 budget early next
\nmonth to the City Council. The councillors are expected to
\napprove the budget in January next year at the latest.<\/p>\n
In previous years, the councillors often criticized proposed
\nbudgets and promised to reject certain projects, but always ended
\nup giving their approval after the projects were \"explained\" by
\nthe administration, and sweeteners in the form of even more
\nfacilities and allowances were promised to them.<\/p>",
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