Administration makes inventory of its assets

JAKARTA (JP): The city is currently conducting an inventory of its assets in response to heavy criticism from the City Council that it has monitored its properties inadequately, an official said yesterday.

Head of the city office for logistics Dadang Ruskandar said his office had so far inventoried land, building and public facility assets with an estimated value of about Rp 60 trillion (US$4.8 million).

"The value will definitely continue rising because we have not finished taking a count. We'll also get more from some lands which are still under dispute with other parties," he said.

The administration is currently trying to settle disputes with private companies and groups of people over idle land the city claims to hold in 45 locations.

Dadang declined to indicate the amount of land area and value under dispute, saying he did not remember the information.

The administration holds land, he said, in at least 12,000 separate locations throughout the capital.

Most of the city's registered assets originally belonged to the administration, though some sites were acquired from private developers in exchange for the issuance of licenses to develop commercial buildings and facilities on particular areas belonging to the administration.

Some of the developers, however, have not fulfilled their obligations, he said without further elaborating.

The head of the City Council's Commission D for development affairs, Ali Wongso, said the logistics office should quickly finish its inventory and make the results public.

"Don't hide it. The public has the right to know about the administration's assets," he said.

The administration has been criticized in the past for refusing to make its assets known to the public. The city has allegedly suffered financial losses in the past from corrupt government officials improperly selling city property to private firms.

Ali said the administration must be transparent in managing its assets.

The administration is allowed to lease assets to private firms to raise revenues, he said, adding that there were about 22 properties, mostly buildings and public facilities, which were currently being leased to private firms.

Such rented assets include the swimming pool and tennis courts in the Bintaro housing estate in South Jakarta, which were developed and managed by the administration's biggest business partner, PT Pembangunan Jaya, he said.

Ali said the administration, which currently takes in about Rp 24 million a year in rental revenues, should increase its fees in line with rising inflation. (cst)