North Sumatra 'TVRI' station ceases broadcasting<\/p>\n
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra<\/p>\n
State-owned television station TVRI is no longer broadcasting
\nin North Sumatra, marking another suspension of a TVRI station
\nunder a restructuring program to slash state funding for TVRI
\nstations nationwide.<\/p>\n
"We have had to stop broadcasting entirely since April 2 as
\nall of our operational funds have been exhausted," said Nazief,
\nTVRI's director in the provincial capital Medan. "We don't know
\nwhen we're back on air."<\/p>\n
He said Medan's TVRI station obtained Rp 9 billion (about US$1
\nmillion) a year from the central government. The funding problem
\nbegan in January when Jakarta slashed its funding transfers.<\/p>\n
"We get only enough funds to pay for our employees," he said,
\nexplaining that salaries amounted to Rp 4 billion a year for the
\nstation's around 400 employees in Medan.<\/p>\n
Nazief said 70 temporary workers, however, had to be laid off.<\/p>\n
A staffer in TVRI's finance division in Medan, Pandapotan
\nSitanggang, said he continued to come to the office although
\nthere was no work to do. "It feels like having lost a job," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
In April 2002, the government decided to convert TVRI from a
\nsocial service corporation to a limited liability company. As a
\nresult, TVRI may no longer receive funding from the state budget.<\/p>\n
TVRI may obtain funds through the Office of the State Minister
\nof State Enterprises. However, these will only be forthcoming
\nafter it has completed the change to a limited liability company.<\/p>\n
TVRI is still in the midst of appointing its first board of
\ndirectors as part of completing the process. But funding from the
\nMinistry of Finance had ceased.<\/p>\n
Consequently, several TVRI stations in the provinces, such as
\nin Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, Lampung, Bengkulu and Central
\nKalimantan have been off the air since last October.<\/p>\n
Stations in Central Java and West Sumatra are close behind.<\/p>\n
Nazief said that TVRI been phasing out its operations in a
\nnumber of regions in North Sumatra since early March.<\/p>\n
Over the past three months, he said, TVRI had been relying on
\nlast year's advertising revenue of Rp 600 million to maintain its
\noperations. The money ran out last month.<\/p>\n
Now, the television station has debts of Rp 500 million in
\nunpaid telephone, electricity, fuel and other bills, he said.<\/p>\n
Last month the provincial government offered to to provide
\nTVRI with Rp 1.1 billion. That money, enough for three months,
\nhad yet to be disbursed, Nazief said.<\/p>",
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