'Sutiyoso's accountability speech feeble'<\/p>\n
Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
City councillors viewed Governor Sutiyoso's accountability
\nspeech for the 2001 City Budget, which was delivered on Thursday,
\nto be weak and an attempt to hide his failures.<\/p>\n
As predicted, Sutiyoso neglected to mention his
\nadministration's failure to prevent the massive floods which hit
\nthe city recently, or the garbage management issue.<\/p>\n
Speaking after the council's plenary session, many of the
\ncouncillors said they would likely reject the speech while others
\nsaid they preferred to discuss it amongst their party factions
\nbefore deciding on an official stance.<\/p>\n
"I personally will recommend that my faction reject the
\nspeech," Councillor Dani Anwar of the Justice Party (PK) said.<\/p>\n
Dani accused Sutiyoso of violating a regulation which bans him
\nfrom becoming the president commissioner of city-owned market
\noperator PD Pasar Jaya.<\/p>\n
He said Sutiyoso claimed in his speech that he and the deputy
\ngovernors relinquished their posts from city-owned firms last
\nyear.<\/p>\n
"I know that, as of the end of 2001, he was still the (PD
\nPasar Jaya) president commissioner," said Dani.<\/p>\n
The National Mandate Party (PAN) also expressed their
\ninclination to reject Sutiyoso's speech based on his failures on
\nseveral fronts, especially garbage management.<\/p>\n
PAN's faction chairman M. Nadjamudin also asserted that
\nSutiyoso's administration was especially weak with regard to
\npublic order and public service.<\/p>\n
Bekasi closed the 104-hectare Bantar Gebang dump, located in
\nthree villages of the municipality, last December and reopened it
\na week after a series of negotiations.<\/p>\n
The council's largest faction, the Indonesian Democratic Party
\nof Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) admitted to being disappointed.<\/p>\n
"Sutiyoso only discussed the 'sweet things'. There are many
\nproblems in the capital but he has failed to explain them," the
\nfaction's secretary M. Nakum AR said.<\/p>\n
The United Development Party (PPP) councillor Syarief
\nZulkarnaen said Sutiyoso's claim that the city-owned firms'
\ncontribution had improved was untrue.<\/p>\n
"The firms only contributed 0.37 percent to the city's
\nrevenue. They are still in a poor state," he said.<\/p>\n
Only the Golkar Party faction declared the governor's speech
\nadequate.<\/p>\n
"It's good enough, although he still needs to give more
\ndetails," Golkar faction chairman Ade Surapriatna said.<\/p>\n
The council's 11 factions -- comprised of 85 councillors, 30
\nfrom PDI Perjuangan, 13 from PPP, 13 from PAN, eight from Golkar,
\nfour from PK and the remaining seven from other parties -- will
\neach give the accountability speech a thumbs up or a thumbs down
\non Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, outside the building on Jl. Kebon Sirih, hundreds
\nof Sutiyoso's supporters called the Betawi Brotherhood Forum
\n(FBR), reacted with violence when they arrived and mistook the
\nJakarta People's Alliance (AMJ), who were already on-site in
\nsupport of the governor, for being anti-Sutiyoso.<\/p>\n
Two members of AMJ were injured in the senseless melee.<\/p>\n
AMJ's coordinator, Syarief, claimed that the incident was
\nmerely a misunderstanding as neither side was apparently aware
\nthat they were supposed to be in support of Sutiyoso.<\/p>\n
Highlights of Sutiyoso's accountability speech of 2001 Budget:<\/p>\n
* The economic growth was 3.64 percent, lower than 2000's figure
\n(3.98 percent) because of political and security conditions.<\/p>\n
* The Gross Regional Domestic Product per capita increased from
\nRp 22.43 million in 2000 to Rp 25.87 million in 2001.<\/p>\n
* The inflation rate in 2001 reached 11.52 percent, higher than
\n2000 (10.29 percent).<\/p>\n
* Public order operations were conducted with the help of the
\npolice and civil guards, targeting street vendors, people with
\nsocial and community problems (including beggars, homeless
\npeople, prostitutes and street children), in addition to pedicab
\n(becak) drivers and squatters.<\/p>\n
These operations often sparked protests, and the victims
\ncomplained to the National Commission of Human Rights, the House
\nof Representatives, the City Council, the City Governor, and even
\nthe Central Jakarta District Court.<\/p>\n
The court declared that the administration had unlawfully
\nconducted the operations because they were held without proper
\nprocedures.<\/p>\n
* There was a significant revenue increase in the 2001 budget
\n(which used the balanced system, meaning revenue was the same as
\nexpenditures), which was Rp 9.09 trillion. The 1999\/2000 budget
\nwas Rp 4.17 trillion.<\/p>\n
* Cutting the bureaucracy for the processing of the application
\nof both local and foreign investors, and developing small
\nbusinesses.<\/p>\n
* In 2001, the City Inspectorate (now called the City Audit
\nAgency) received 283 complaints, including 87 KKN (corruption,
\ncollusion and nepotism) cases. Fifty-nine KKN cases were proven
\nin court, causing the city Rp 1.5 billion in losses.<\/p>\n
A total of 91 employees received administrative sanctions.<\/p>\n
What Sutiyoso failed to mention, however, was the fact that
\nnot one of them was ever prosecuted.<\/p>\n
* Two bylaws were passed to support the implementation of
\nregional autonomy: Bylaw No. 3\/2001 on Organization and Working
\nSystem of the City Administration; and Bylaw No. 8\/2001 on Basic
\nPrinciples of Regional Finance Management.<\/p>\n
* The subdistrict Community Empowerment Program was launched in
\n2001 in 25 subdistricts - each of the subdistricts received Rp 2
\nbillion.<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso admitted that it did not run well because the
\nsubdistricts failed to organize the community, but added it was
\nunderstandable, because the program was new.<\/p>\n
* The year 2001 saw an improvement in public service, compared
\nwith 2000, even though there were still many complaints from
\npeople about the lack of transparency, bureaucracy, and illegal
\nlevies.<\/p>\n
The public service included the process of the building
\nlicense applications and ID card applications; as well as health
\nservice, and funeral service.<\/p>\n
The health service sector has improved, as seen in the life
\nexpectancy that increased from 71.35 in 2000 to 71.9 in 2001;
\ninfant mortality rates, meantime, decreased from 28 to 26 per
\n1,000 births. Maternal mortality rates remained steady at 2 per
\n1,000 births, the same as the rate in 2000.<\/p>\n
* The 35 city firms contributed Rp 34.99 billion, while the
\ntarget was Rp 35.78 billion. Eight of them could not reach the
\ntarget, while three failed to contribute anything.<\/p>\n
* The city constructed 37 new parks, planted 3.5 million trees
\nand renovated the Monas park along with other projects
\nbeautifying the city.<\/p>\n
But in the long term, Sutiyoso acknowledged, it would take a
\ndecade or two to turn Jakarta into a green city.<\/p>",
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