Water rate hike 'must wait for audit result'<\/p>\n
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Councillors called on the Jakarta Administration on Tuesday to
\nwait for an audit report from an independent consultant before
\nincreasing tap water rates.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the City Council's Commission D for development
\naffairs, Koeswadi Soesilohardjo, said that the councillors needed
\nto know the findings of the audit before making a decision on a
\nproposed water rate hike of 30 percent.<\/p>\n
\"We must know the real size of the cumulative shortfall in the
\npayments made by city-owned tap water operator PD PAM Jaya
\nbecause in the proposal the administration says it will use 17
\npercent of the hike to pay its debts to its two foreign
\npartners,\" Koeswadi of the Indonesian Democratic Party of
\nStruggle (PDI Perjuangan) told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Councillor Achmad Heryawan of the Council's Commission E for
\npeople's welfare supported Koeswadi's statement.<\/p>\n
\"How can we decide on new water rates if the main reason for
\nthe increase, which is the shortfall, is still being calculated,\"
\nhe told the Post.<\/p>\n
Two international firms, PT Thames PAM Jaya (TPJ) and PT PAM
\nLyonnaise Jaya (Palyja), have reported a Rp 990 billion
\n(US$116.47 million) shortfall in the payments they have received
\nfrom PD PAM Jaya. This figure differs from the Rp 600 billion
\nestimated by PD PAM Jaya president director Didiet Haryadi.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Settlement and Regional Infrastructure has
\nhired London-based independent auditors, Stone Webster, to
\nascertain the real extent of the shortfall.<\/p>\n
City Water Regulatory Body chairman Achmad Lanti said that
\nStone Webster's Independent Combined Experts (ICE) team,
\nconsisting of three foreign and five domestic experts, had
\nalready started working. The team would collaborate with experts
\nfrom the Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP).<\/p>\n
Lanti said that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has given a
\nUS$200,000 loan to the ministry to pay for the team. He also said
\nthat the audit report was expected to be completed in early
\nJanuary.<\/p>\n
PD PAM Jaya hopes to pay around a quarter of its debts to the
\ntwo foreign partners. The remaining 13 percent of the water rate
\nincrease would be used to cover inflation and the two
\ninternational firms' operating costs.<\/p>\n
Lanti had said that the debts were the result of the
\ndifference between the water rates paid by customers and the
\nwater charges that had to be paid by PD PAM Jaya to its foreign
\npartners.<\/p>\n
Both Koeswadi and Heryawan agreed that in the long run, the
\nscope of the audit must be expanded to include the international
\nfirms' performance because the administration had been accepting
\nreports from both foreign partners without any proper auditing
\nprocess.<\/p>\n
\"The administration has just received reports on the foreign
\npartners' total investment and the projects that they have
\ncarried out. However, we don't know the accuracy of these
\nreports,\" Heryawan said.<\/p>\n
The council will summon the managements of PD PAM Jaya, TPJ
\nand Palyja on Thursday to explain the proposal and the shortfall.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/water-rate-hike-must-wait-for-audit-result-1447893297",
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