Govt to revise arms purchase procedures<\/p>\n
Tiarma Siboro and Imanuddin Razak, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government is streamlining the procedures for procuring arms
\nand will exclude the Indonesian Military (TNI) from the process
\nin a bid to avoid corruption and mark-ups.<\/p>\n
Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono met with TNI commander
\nGen. Endriartono Sutarto and all three chiefs of staff on
\nWednesday for initial talks on the plan, which will only take
\neffect three or four years down the line.<\/p>\n
Juwono said the first step he would take would be to identify
\nall suppliers and contractors of the military before starting an
\ninvestigation into allegations of mark-ups in the purchase of
\nmilitary equipment in the past.<\/p>\n
Military equipment purchases have for the last few decades
\ninvolved contractors in line with a presidential decree on public
\nprocurements that was issued in the 1970s.<\/p>\n
\"The government has pledged to continue promoting
\naccountability, transparency and efficiency as part of the effort
\nto create good governance. I'm now reviewing the long-standing
\nprocedures for procuring military equipment in response to
\nsuspicions that they are prone to corruption and mark-ups,\"
\nJuwono told The Jakarta Post .<\/p>\n
Currently dozens of contractors have personal access to
\ncertain officials either in the defense ministry or TNI
\nheadquarters, and use these contacts to lobby for procurement
\nprojects without going through a bidding process, Juwono said.<\/p>\n
He added he had asked the ministry's secretary-general and
\ninspectorate general to produce the names of both domestic and
\nforeign contractors and find out whether or not they had good
\nreputations.<\/p>\n
\"Only after we have their names will we be able to continue
\nwith the investigation into alleged mark-ups, which it is
\nbelieved have been going on for decades,\" Juwono said..<\/p>\n
Juwono, however, would not elaborate on whether the military
\nofficers or state officials involved would also be investigated.<\/p>\n
The TNI has been persistently demanding an increase in
\ngovernment spending on defense to help improve the welfare of
\nsoldiers and modernize its largely outdated equipment.<\/p>\n
The latest example of a controversial arms procurement was the
\npurchase of four Russian-made Sukhoi fighters and two Mi-35
\nassault helicopters in 2002, which excluded the defense ministry
\neven though this is required by the Defense Law.<\/p>\n
\"We are going to build a clean system in which the purchase of
\nmilitary equipment should be discussed here,\" Juwono said,
\nreferring to his ministry.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-to-revise-arms-purchase-procedures-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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