AGO loses most taxpayer money
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Attorney General's Office (AGO), the nation's frontline in eradicating corruption and guarding the state coffers, was declared by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) on Thursday as the country's top state "money abuser" last year, in the category of state fund management.
Speaking before the House of Representatives' (DPR) plenary session, BPK Chairman Satrio Budihardjo Joedono disclosed that the AGO had misused 95 percent of the total Rp 11.99 billion (US$2.35 million) non-taxable state funds (PNBP) which had been audited by BPK for the second semester 2003.
"The highest percentage of impropriety was found in the administration of PNBP at the Attorney General's Office," Joedono said.
He also said that the lowest percentage of impropriety occurred at the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration. His office, however, still found that a whopping Rp 3 billion had gone missing, or about 1.29 percent of the total of Rp 239 billion allocated for the sector.
An audit of the 2003 state budget revealed that the leakage of state funds reached over Rp 365 billion or 6.15 percent of the total Rp 5.94 trillion that was audited.
In addition to the PNBP fund, the AGO also outdid other state agencies with their inefficiency in the category of development spending.
"In auditing development expenses, the highest percentage of highest misuse of was also found at the AGO," said Joedono, who will soon end his five-year term in office.
He cited the construction of buildings in Banten province, wherein 95 percent of the Rp 118 million allocated for the project was not accounted for.
Also in the development category, the lowest amount of impropriety occurred in the National Information Institute (LIN) at Rp 29 million, or 0.37 percent of Rp 7.9 billion.
Besides the impropriety in state income, BPK also found irregularities in the routine and development expenses of the 2003 state budget. They showed improprieties amounting to 9.61 percent and 2.96 percent, respectively.
Joedono has often complained that his office's findings were just simply dismissed by the government of Megawati Soekarnoputri or received no response at all from the National Police, AGO or any of other legal entity.
Joedono on Thursday expressed concern over the poor rate of settling cases that his office had reported earlier. Of 5,881 cases causing Rp 2 trillion in state losses reported, only 155 cases worth Rp 6.5 billion or 0.32 percent have been settled.
In his report to the House, Joedono pointed out that he had sent four irregularity cases, including the Bank Indonesia liquidity support facility (BLBI) and irregularities committed by the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) to the AGO for further legal investigation. He did not specifically say what, if any, response was by Attorney General M.A. Rachman to the report.
Rachman also is not free from corruption allegations. In 2002, he nearly lost his job following corruption allegations from a former close aide. Ignoring public outcry, however, Megawati, who appointed him, assured Rachman that she would not let anyone investigate him.
Meanwhile, regarding the expenditures at the defense ministry, the Indonesian military (TNI), and the National Police, BPK found an average impropriety of 8.69 percent.
The biggest percentage of impropriety at 11.88 percent of Rp 59.75 billion (or Rp 7 billion) was found at the National Police while the lowest percentage at 3.23 percent of Rp 79 billion (or 2.5 billion) is found at the Air Force.
Joedono used his last hearing with the House on Thursday to say farewell them. He did not mention in his speech whether he would be available for another term.