Corruption in garbage management suspected<\/p>\n
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The closure of the Bantar Gebang dump site in Bekasi, West
\nJava, a recent headache for city administration officials, has
\nfurther exposed allegations of corruption at the Jakarta sanitary
\nagency.<\/p>\n
Agency bureaucrats, from its lowest-ranking officers to top
\nofficials, have drawn fire for manipulating the city's budget for
\nhandling garbage, according to Ali Imron Hussein, deputy chief of
\nthe City Council's Commission D for development affairs.<\/p>\n
\"Corruption in the agency is terrible, as it was done not only
\nby top officials, but also by low-ranking officers,\" said the
\ncity councillor.<\/p>\n
Higher-ups manipulated the agency's budget for waste
\nmanagement to their benefit, while lower ranking officers,
\nincluding drivers, he noted, took advantage of the situation by
\ntaking the garbage to buyers and selling selected items --
\ninstead of its proper destination, the dump in Bantar Gebang.<\/p>\n
He referred to the graft as a \"time consuming\" process that
\nhas resulted in a reduction in the amount of city garbage
\ntransported to dump sites \"per day.\"<\/p>\n
Ali said that, every year, the agency officials order the
\npurchase of several trucks under the pretext of increasing their
\ncapacity for transporting the garbage, saying their workers can
\nonly haul 80 percent of the 25,000 cubic meters of trash that
\nJakarta produces on a daily basis.<\/p>\n
\"We (the councillors) have asked them for a report of their
\nannual expenses but, up until now, we have not received it,\" he
\ntold reporters.<\/p>\n
Every year, the agency has received about Rp 90 billion from
\nthe city budget to manage its garbage. This year, it plans to
\nallocate Rp 50 billion to set up a sanitary landfill system at
\nBantar Gebang site.<\/p>\n
\"But they haven't realized it yet -- where did the money go as
\nthey failed to manage the garbage?\" he asked.<\/p>\n
\"The city inspectorate should interrogate them,\" Ali added.<\/p>\n
The excess garbage, he said, has become a veritable gold mine
\nfor the sanitary agency officers.<\/p>\n
The city administration came under attack earlier this month
\nwhen Bekasi mayoralty decided to shut down the 104-hectare Bantar
\nGebang dump site.<\/p>\n
That decision, however, shocked the administration, which
\ninsisted that Bekasi mayoralty could not close the site until
\n2003, as stipulated under a signed agreement.<\/p>\n
As a result of the incident, a panicked Governor Sutiyoso
\nimmediately fired the city sanitation agency's head Saksono
\nSoehodo and his deputy.<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, following intervention by the central
\ngovernment, the Bekasi mayoralty agreed to reopen Bantar Gebang
\ndump site for a one-month grace period.<\/p>\n
The mayoralty demanded that Jakarta city officials improve
\nconditions at the site, including on its sanitary landfill system
\nand the construction of medical care facilities for residents.<\/p>\n
If the administration failed to accommodate the demand, the
\nBekasi mayoralty will close the site again on Feb. 1 next year.<\/p>\n
Apparently, garbage problems will continue to haunt the
\nadministration. Apart from obligation to examine alleged
\ncorruption at the sanitary agency, the administration has yet to
\nmake a serious plan to solve it.<\/p>\n
The spokesman of the administration, Muhayat, admitted that
\nthe city budget could ill afford to accede to the Bekasi
\nmayoralty's demand.<\/p>\n
\"We will probably use a reserve fund to cope with the
\nproblem,\" he said, without elaboration.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/corruption-in-garbage-management-suspected-1447893297",
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