Official fired for imposing illegal fees<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Medan\/Kupang\/Aceh<\/p>\n
Irregularities have marred the disbursement of the assistance
\nfund for poor families in Medan city with some government
\nofficials found to have been imposing illegal fees.<\/p>\n
Two cases have been reported since the government raised fuel
\nprice on Oct. 1, but only one has been followed up, which
\nconcerns the allegation that a local figure in Sei Mati
\nsubdistrict extorted Rp 25,000 money from every fund recipient.<\/p>\n
Zahradar, a resident of Medan Maimon district, said she was
\nshocked that the person, identified as RN, had collected money
\nfrom every household receiving the fund.<\/p>\n
According to the government scheme, each poor household
\nreceives Rp 300,000 each quarter until next year. The fund is
\nbeing distributed to cushion the impact of the fuel price
\nincreases.<\/p>\n
Zahradar said the residents had been reluctant to hand over
\nthe money but complied when RN threatened to withhold their
\npayments.<\/p>\n
Besides Zahradar, other residents who reported the
\nirregularity to the police and the Medan administration were
\nSirnawaty, Aliusman, Rusmiati, Mahmudi, Syafri, Arbaiah, Kamal
\nand Muriati.<\/p>\n
Medan Mayor Abdillah confirmed the report and said that he had
\ndismissed RN, the head of the Lingkungan VII area in Sei Mati
\nsubdistrict, Medan city. \"I am disappointed in him. We cannot
\ntolerate what he has done so he has been fired,\" the mayor said.<\/p>\n
In Kupang, the capital of East Nusa Tenggara, many of those
\nwho received the assistance fund were in fact from the
\nmiddle-income bracket. They were the families of retired police
\nand military officers, civil servants or state enterprise
\nemployees.<\/p>\n
Steven, an employee with the Kupang Statistics Agency (BPS),
\nacknowledged that the agency had collected the wrong data so that
\nthe fund went to the wrong targets. In Laisana subdistrict, for
\nexample, some 100 poor families have not received the fund
\nalthough they earn below Rp 175,000 a month. Poor families are
\ncategorized as earning below Rp 175,000 a month by the statistics
\nagency. According to the statistics agency, the number of poor
\npeople in Kupang eligible to receive the assistance fund is
\n23,067 across 45 subdistricts.<\/p>\n
In Aceh, a province with a population of 3.8 million, the Aceh
\nstatistics agency is gathering data on the number of people
\neligible to receive the fund.<\/p>\n
\"The fund will be disbursed before Idul Fitri in early
\nNovember,\" said Aceh's acting governor Azwar Abu Bakar.<\/p>\n
However, Azwar reiterated that the victims of the tsunami
\ndisaster would not receive the fuel compensation fund as the
\nvictims, totaling some 500,000 people, have been receiving
\nassistance of Rp 90,000 per month per person since April.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/official-fired-for-imposing-illegal-fees-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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