Telkom partner endorses using independent auditor<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government should appoint an independent
\nauditor to assess the operation of state telecommunications
\nprovider PT Telkom and its five partners under the joint-
\noperation scheme (KSO), one of the partners said on Friday.<\/p>\n
Gatot S. Kahrmadji, vice president of PT Ariawest
\nInternational, said an independent auditor was needed to help
\nclarify differences between the two parties, especially the
\npartners's responsibilities.<\/p>\n
\"The result of an independent audit may then be acceptable to
\nboth Telkom and the KSO partners, since each insists that their
\nreports are the most accountable one,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Gatot was referring to a work performance disagreement
\nconcerning the number of installed new access line units (ALU)
\nreported by the five KSO partners -- PT Ariawest International,
\nPT Pramindo Ikat Nusantara, PT Mitral Global Telekomunikasi
\nIndonesia (MGTI), PT Cable & Wireless Mitratel and PT Bukaka
\nSingtel (BSI).<\/p>\n
As of March 31, KSO partners reported they had installed
\napproximately 1.37 million ALUs across the regions, exceeding the
\ntarget figure set by the government of 1.2 million ALU.<\/p>\n
Pramindo contributed 297,290 ALU, Ariawest 299,458, MGTI
\n403,500, Cable & Wireless Mitratel 120,000 and Bukaka Singtel
\n251,300.<\/p>\n
The telephone infrastructure of the five companies often
\noverlaps with that built by Telkom before they began their joint-
\noperation contracts in 1996.<\/p>\n
Telkom also used its own auditor to assess its operation in
\nthe overlapping areas.<\/p>\n
Chairman of House Commission IV for communications,
\nBurhanuddin Napitupulu, said KSO's interpretation of ALU was
\ndifferent from Telkom's.<\/p>\n
\"An installed ALU means that the telephone line is not only
\ninstalled but also kring (sold to a customer).\"<\/p>\n
He said another issue requiring clarification between Telkom
\nand its partners was the investment and revenue amounts made by
\nKSO partners.<\/p>\n
According to the KSO partners' latest report, as of March 31,
\ntotal investment of US$1.56 billion had been made, of which $567
\nmillion was their own equity.<\/p>\n
Telkom appointed in 1996 the five joint-operation partners --
\na consortium of foreign and local firms -- to finance, build and
\noperate telephone services across Indonesia under a revenue-
\nsharing scheme up till 2010.<\/p>\n
Ariawest is responsible for West Java, Pramindo for Sumatra,
\nMGTI for Central Java, Cable & Wireless for Kalimantan and BSI
\nfor eastern Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The agreement at first required KSO partners to install two
\nmillion new ALUs across their work areas during a three-year
\nconstruction period from 1996 to 1999.<\/p>\n
Due to the economic crisis, in September 1998, the government
\nrevised the target to 1.2 million ALU.<\/p>\n
Under the 15-year agreement, the firms are required to pay
\nTelkom a three-monthly fixed amount known as Minimum Telkom
\nRevenue (MTR) and Distributable Telkom Revenue (DTR) based on
\ntheir revenue.<\/p>\n
The government revised the revenue-sharing proportion last
\nyear, dividing the DTR into 10 percent for Telkom and 90 percent
\nfor the partners, from the previous 30 percent for Telkom and 70
\npercent for the partners.<\/p>\n
KSO said they had paid Telkom approximately 45 percent, or Rp
\n5.03 trillion, of the total revenue collected since early 1996 to
\nMarch this year.<\/p>\n
Burhanuddin said the disagreement between Telkom and the KSO
\npartners emerged partly because of changes in the contract
\nagreement following requests made by KSO partners to the
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
\"KSO partners had always tried to find excuses to revise the
\nagreement to their own interests,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said hiring an independent auditor would not solve the
\ndisagreement.<\/p>\n
\"It'll only be a waste of time. I'd say we should cancel the
\njoint-operation scheme, it's not fruitful. A profit-sharing
\ncontract may be a better and fairer scheme for everyone.\" (cst)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/telkom-partner-endorses-using-independent-auditor-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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