Audit agency attempts to recover trillions

Audit agency attempts to recover trillions

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Ministry of Agriculture has accounted for Rp 125 million
following its settlement of 35 financial-related irregularities
valued at Rp 14.99 billion discovered by the State Audit Agency
(BPK) in its 1999 and 2000 reports.

The ministry is one of eight which made public their findings
on Tuesday in order to settle a total of 1,643 cases of
irregularities amounting to Rp 3.2 trillion in potential losses.

The other ministries, which are among the first batch to
complete reports for the office of the state ministry of
administrative reform, included the ministry of defense, finance,
national education, foreign affairs, energy and mineral
resources, transportation, and the ministry of resettlement and
regional infrastructure.

State Minister of Administrative Reforms Feisal Tamin, whose
office supervises the ministries' efforts, told reporters at his
office that the ministries' reports had been reported and
endorsed by BPK.

He also said that most of the cases were inherited from past
administrations but were still recorded in each of their reports
to the audit agency because the cases were still pending.

"Now we want to make sure of transparency and clarification of
each of our efforts to create a good and clean form of
governance," he added.

During the media briefing, Ministry of Agriculture
Inspectorate General A.H. Rahadian said that his office has also
taken severe action against a total of 42 staffers implicated in
various budget abuses.

Ministry of National Education Inspectorate General Muljani A.
Nurhadi claimed the office had recovered two-thirds of the Rp
8.64 billion in losses to the state.

"The BPK discovered Rp 66 billion in possible losses, but the
existing misuse of the budget was Rp 8.64 billion. We have
returned Rp 5.73 billion of it and are still working to settle
the rest of the cases," he said.

The ministry has also handed down severe punishments,
including dismissals to 156 staffers for violating regulations on
civil employment and also for implications in the misuse of the
state budget.

In its regular report last year, BPK revealed irregularities
and abuses with the state budget which were projected to bring
the total loss to Rp 3.2 trillion. The amount was derived from
the disappearance of Rp 1.4 trillion from regional budgets, Rp
1.2 trillion from state-owned enterprises, Rp 608 billion from
the state budget and another Rp 1 billion found to be missing
from the Treasury Endowment Body (BPH).

Most of the cases reportedly stem from administrative
disorder, unrealistic project targets and cases that are related
to an inefficient use of the budget.

Ministry of Defense Inspectorate General Lt. Gen. Suharto said
that the ministry has identified most of the Rp 46.91 billion of
potential losses.

"We are still monitoring the use of Rp 3.85 billion at the
National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas) to finance the students'
official travel and of Rp 1.32 billion at the ministry's human
resource affairs office which is used to provide accommodations
for the civil security guards (Kamra) in troubled provinces," he
said.

Ministry of Finance Inspectorate General Agus Haryanto claimed
the office had resolved the cases which may have caused Rp 13.34
billion in losses and was still working on the remaining six
cases with potential losses of Rp 2.33 billion.