Administration makes inventory of its assets
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)