Irregularities found in WB-funded projects<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A joint investigation by the World Bank and the
\nMinistry of Education and Culture has found deficiencies and
\nirregularities in the construction of a number of World Bank-
\nfinanced schools, an official said here on Friday.<\/p>\n
The \"irregularities\" were found in junior high school
\nbuildings recently completed in East Java and West Sumatra.<\/p>\n
World Bank Country Director for Indonesia Dennis de Tray said
\nthe discovery was made during a regular World Bank supervisory
\ninspection, the results of which were later confirmed by a local
\nengineer invited by the Bank's supervision team.<\/p>\n
\"It is unfortunate that at the very time Indonesia needs to
\nmake sure all children are provided with school places, we are
\npresented with a situation that requires the closure of new
\nschools because they were poorly constructed,\" de Tray said.<\/p>\n
Separately, Basilius Bengoteku, the World Bank's education
\nofficer, said the supervisory inspection in August found that out
\nof 41 schools built in East Java with World Bank funds in the
\n1997\/1988 financial year, 18 were found to be either incomplete
\nor substandard.<\/p>\n
\"Out of the 18 buildings, four were declared unsafe,\" he told
\nThe Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
According to a joint press statement released by the bank and
\nthe ministry, local officials signed off the construction as
\ncomplete and one-hundred percent satisfactory.<\/p>\n
In West Sumatra, the Ministry of Education and Culture found
\nsome contractors had handled funds incorrectly and that some
\nschools had not been completed to the specifications of the
\ncontracts.<\/p>\n
\"We are very concerned because the schools were built from a
\nWorld Bank loan and the state budget to provide education
\nfacilities in rural and remote areas,\" Basilius said.<\/p>\n
\"One of the schools in East Java, for instance, does not have
\na satisfactory drainage system. If it rains, a landslide could
\noccur,\" he added.<\/p>\n
He said that last year the World Bank financed construction of
\n182 junior high school buildings in the provinces of East Java,
\nCentral Java, East Nusa Tenggara, Central Kalimantan, West
\nKalimantan, Aceh, Jambi, Lampung, West Sumatra and South Sumatra.<\/p>\n
He said similar malfeasance might also have occurred in
\nconnection with schools built in the other provinces.<\/p>\n
The ministry and the World Bank have launched immediate
\ninspections and engineering analysis to check the quality of
\nbuildings in the other provinces.<\/p>\n
Each school building is worth Rp 300 million to Rp 400
\nmillion, Basilius said.<\/p>\n
\"One way or the other the buildings must be repaired. The
\nstudents will be temporarily moved to neighboring schools while
\nthe repair work is being done,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"We can't afford to put the children in danger, but their
\nstudies must not be interrupted,\" Basilius added.<\/p>\n
\"The projects were being run by the provincial administration,
\nso they must be responsible for this too,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Director General of Primary and Secondary Education Indra
\nDjati Sidi has warned all provincial authorities that
\nconstruction contracts must be awarded transparently and
\ncompleted according to acceptable specifications.<\/p>\n
\"We are determined to ensure that the schools are repaired
\nquickly and we will also improve our management system, including
\nthe way construction of new school buildings is supervised,\"
\nIndra said in a statement. (edt)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/irregularities-found-in-wb-funded-projects-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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