Public services to function as usual<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Provincial administrations that have not yet submitted their
\n2002 draft budgets to their respective legislatures will be able
\nto cover routine spending and deliver public services as normal.<\/p>\n
Citing technical reasons, the South Sulawesi and Irian Jaya
\nadministrations have yet to submit draft budgets for the 2002
\nfiscal year to their provincial legislative councils.<\/p>\n
Agus Sumantri, spokesman for the South Sulawesi provincial
\nadministration, said Governor H.Z.B. Palaguna would not be able
\nto submit the province's draft budget to the provincial
\nlegislature until next week because an internal discussion among
\nrelevant officials in the administration was still going on.<\/p>\n
\"Despite being late, we are optimistic that the draft budget
\nwill be endorsed before Jan. 1, 2002 and this will not affect
\npublic services in the province,\" he told The Jakarta Post in
\nMakassar on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
He said that, based on past experience, the special committee
\nthat would be set up to consider the draft budget would be able
\nto complete its work and endorse the budget within a week.<\/p>\n
Ramli Haba, a member of the provincial legislature's
\nCommission C on economic and budgetary affairs, called on the
\ngovernor to submit the draft budget to allow the legislature
\nsufficient time to deliberate on it.<\/p>\n
\"The legislature must study the draft budget to make it
\neffective in tackling all the problems the province is facing.
\nThe draft budget must be adjusted to reflect priorities that the
\nlegislature has proposed the executive adopt during the next
\nfiscal year,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Separately, Paulus Sumino, chairman of the Irian Jaya
\nprovincial legislature's Commission on economic and budgetary
\naffairs, said the provincial administration and legislature had
\nagreed to delay compiling the draft budget until February 2002 in
\nline with the implementation of special autonomy beginning on
\nJan. 1, 2002.<\/p>\n
\"We are waiting for the handover by the president of the
\nspecial autonomy law on Dec. 22, 2001. We have agreed to draw up
\nthe draft budget after we know the province's revenue situation
\nunder special autonomy,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said the provincial administration would use the additional
\nfunds disbursed to the province under the present budget to
\nfinance public services throughout January and February 2002.<\/p>\n
The province has secured Rp 168.99 billion in additional funds
\nfrom the central government to cover public services for the
\nJanuary and February period, he added.<\/p>\n
In Bandung, West Java, Governor R. Nuriana said the provincial
\nlegislature was soon expected to endorse the 2002 draft budget to
\nensure the province's timely receipt of the funds allocated from
\nthe state budget to finance public services in the province and a
\nportion of the province's development projects.<\/p>\n
\"The endorsement of the province's 2002 budget is urgently
\nneeded because it also includes funds that will be allocated by
\nthe central government to pay civil servants and to finance some
\nof the development projects in the province,\" he said after
\npresenting his response to the legislature's reactions to the
\ndraft budget in a plenary session here on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Other provinces, including North Sumatra and East Java, are
\nstill deliberating their draft budgets to be endorsed ahead of
\nJanuary 2002.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/public-services-to-function-as-usual-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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