WB asks RI to repay debt after fraud<\/p>\n
Following a thorough investigation since late 2000, The
\nWorld Bank declared on Tuesday in Washington that collusion had
\nled to the procurement of inferior quality books in a school book
\nproject here and requested that the Indonesian government repay
\nUS$10 million of some $53 million it has disbursed.<\/p>\n
It also asked the government to prepare and implement an
\nacceptable action plan to improve the procurement process in the
\neducation sector.<\/p>\n
As many as 20 private and state publishers and 10 individuals
\nhave been blacklisted from any new World Bank-financed contracts
\nfor a period of debarment for alleged fraudulent and corrupt
\npractices in the project, it said in a statement issued from
\nWashington. It did not elaborate.<\/p>\n
\"The funds we lend must go to help the people of Indonesia
\nreduce poverty. The World Bank has worked closely with the
\nGovernment of Indonesia to uncover and correct the diversion of
\nfunds from this project through corrupt practices,\" World Bank
\nCountry Director Andrew Steer said in the statement.<\/p>\n
The statement is available on www.worldbank.or.id.<\/p>\n
It was not clear how the World Bank would press for its
\ndemand.<\/p>\n
The Book and Reading Development Project, which began in
\nOctober 1995, was implemented by the education ministry. It was
\nfunded in part by an International Bank for Reconstruction and
\nDevelopment (IBRD) loan valued at $132.5 million, which funded
\nthe purchase of textbooks for junior secondary schools.<\/p>\n
The government also disbursed $40 million from the state
\nbudget in the joint project.<\/p>\n
Four rounds of textbook procurement from 1996 to 2000 were
\nearlier planned for the project. However, the last procurement
\nwas canceled. The project closed on Dec. 31, 2002, having
\ndisbursed some $53 million of the loan.<\/p>\n
The World Bank, which initiated anticorruption efforts in
\n1996, started the investigation following an investigative report
\nin weekly magazine Tempo, which revealed fraud and corruption in
\nthe project.<\/p>\n
The report suggested collusion by some officials from the
\neducation ministry and the publishers due to nontransparent bids,
\nwhich resulted in poor quality school books distributed across
\nthe country.<\/p>\n
Several education experts said that the books contained major
\nmistakes.<\/p>\n
Indra Djati Sidi, the education ministry's director general of
\nelementary and junior high school affairs, could not be reached
\nfor comment while the Indonesian Publishers Association (IKAPI)
\nhas yet to be informed about the issue. -- JP<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/wb-asks-ri-to-repay-debt-after-fraud-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}