Council approves Rp 14t budget<\/p>\n
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Although rejected by two factions, the City Council on Thursday
\nfinally approved the Rp 14 trillion (US$1.5 billion) budget for
\n2005 after the Jakarta administration pledged to make periodic
\nreports about the use of the money.<\/p>\n
The Democratic Party and the Reform Awakening Party forced
\nGovernor Sutiyoso to agree to accept the condition that
\ncouncillors be kept posted on the progress of a number of the
\ncity's so-called prioritized programs.<\/p>\n
\"The administration has agreed to report the progress of those
\nprograms every two months so that the council can closely monitor
\ntheir implementation,\" Denny Talloga of the Democratic faction
\ntold The Jakarta Post after the approval.<\/p>\n
The city allocated Rp 2.82 trillion to finance its prioritized
\nprograms that include the construction of the East Flood Canal,
\ntwo busway corridors, school buildings, waste treatment plants,
\nas well as river maintenance, reforestation, and improvements in
\nteachers' welfare.<\/p>\n
The administration managed to pass its Rp 14 trillion budget
\nof which Rp 6.78 trillion is derived from taxes, Rp 5.39 trillion
\nfrom revenue sharing with the central government, and Rp 1.4
\ntrillion from unspent funds from last year's budget.<\/p>\n
The original figure for the proposed budget stated in the
\ndraft submitted to the city council last month was Rp 13.93
\ntrillion. The 2004 budget was Rp 12.6 trillion.<\/p>\n
The administration later realized that it had a surplus in tax
\nrevenue.<\/p>\n
In the final statement from the Reform Awakening Party,
\nfaction chairman Mansur Syaerozi underlined the need to cut
\nspending in several programs, which the faction considered
\ninefficient.<\/p>\n
\"We could reduce the budget of Rp 3 trillion for additional
\nwelfare funds for officials, for example,\" Mansur told the press
\non the sidelines of the plenary session.<\/p>\n
\"If we can reduce such inefficiency in the budget we may be
\nable to acquire all the lands needed for the East Flood Canal
\nproject,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The project, which is important to mitigate annual flooding in
\nGreater Jakarta, has long been stalled because of the cost of
\nresuming land from owners.<\/p>\n
Democratic Party faction chairman Johny Wenas Polii also
\nquestioned reports about the quick revision in this year's
\nunspent funds.<\/p>\n
In the first draft, unspent funds in 2004 budget totaled Rp
\n1.9 trillion.<\/p>\n
\"We need detailed information on which working units in the
\nadministration have been able to meet their targets in 2004,\" he
\nadded.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/council-approves-rp-14t-budget-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}