Defying protest, councillors adamant on operational funds<\/p>\n
Rusman, Samarinda<\/p>\n
Defying criticism by non-governmental organizations, members of
\nthe East Kalimantan provincial council were adamant that they
\ndeserved to receive Rp 5.4 billion (US$600,000) in operational
\nfunds.<\/p>\n
"The allocation of the funds is proper and has a strong legal
\nbasis," said a member of the provincial council on Friday.<\/p>\n
Kasyful Anwar As'ad, the coordinator of the council's budget
\ncommittee, said the councillors met on Thursday in Samarinda,
\nEast Kalimantan, and discussed charges by NGOs that if they
\naccepted the operational funds, the councillors would be guilty
\nof graft.<\/p>\n
The meeting was attended by 28 councillors, or more than half
\nof the 45 total councillors.<\/p>\n
According to Kasyful, the councillors were entitled to receive
\nthe Rp 5.4 billion, or Rp 120 million each, because the proposal
\nhad gone through several discussions among the councillors as
\nwell as with the government.<\/p>\n
He also said the governor of East Kalimantan had approved the
\nproposal. Kasyful, who is the deputy speaker of the provincial
\ncouncil, said the funds were allocated to cover the additional
\noperational expenses of the councillors.<\/p>\n
"The councillors have already been allocated operational funds
\nto cover official activities, including their visits to remote
\nareas in the province, but that money is often far from
\nsufficient.<\/p>\n
"So we proposed this additional operational budget and it has
\nbeen agreed to by both government officials and councillors in
\nthe province," said Kasyful.<\/p>\n
The proposed distribution of these funds has caused a
\ncontroversy in the province, with NGOs, including the State
\nWealth Concern, demanding that prosecutors look into the
\npossibility of graft in the proposal.<\/p>\n
The controversy began last month when the council issued two
\ndecisions to allocate Rp 4.5 billion of the council's Rp 42.3
\nbillion in operational funds to the 45 councillors as a cash
\npayment. Each councillor would receive Rp 100 million, in
\naddition to Rp 20 million each from the council's health budget
\nof Rp 900 million.<\/p>\n
The NGOs allege this agreement to distribute the funds, which
\nwas reached before the councillors ended their five-year terms in
\nSeptember, was deliberately engineered to extract money from the
\nbudget for personal gain.<\/p>\n
The groups say the money was simply another form of severance
\npay.<\/p>\n
Provincial council speaker Sukardi Jarwo Putro refused to
\ncomment on the matter.<\/p>\n
This controversy came to light amid a string of graft charges
\nand prosecutions of regency and provincial councillors around the
\ncountry.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/defying-protest-councillors-adamant-on-operational-funds-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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