Audit agency reports on irregularities involving Susilo, Agum Gumelar
Audit agency reports on irregularities involving Susilo, Agum Gumelar
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Presidential candidates and their running mates may boast "clean"
track records that suit the country's fight against chronic
corruption, but findings reveal that some of them failed to keep
their offices free from corruption during their tenure as
ministers.
The latest audit report issued by the Supreme Audit Agency
(BPK) in February revealed that several presidential and vice
presidential candidates appeared to be responsible for
irregularities in the use of the 2002 state budget.
Among the candidates mentioned in the report are Democratic
Party presidential candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his
running mate Jusuf Kalla and vice presidential candidate Agum
Gumelar, who is running under the United Development Party flag.
When the audit was conducted last year, the three candidates
were part of President Megawati Soekarnoputri's Cabinet. Susilo
was the coordinating minister for political and security affairs,
Kalla the coordinating minister for people's welfare and Agum was
the communications minister.
In its report, the BPK found irregularities amounting to more
than Rp 26 billion (about US$2.76 million) in the use of state
funds at the Office of the Coordinating Minister for Political
and Security Affairs.
Most of the funds, around Rp 24.3 billion, were not properly
accounted for as the office did not explain them in the balance
sheet for 2002 state budget expenditure, according to the report.
Another irregularity was the use of some Rp 1.58 billion in
funds for an overseas trip by several high-ranking officials from
the office, none of which is accounted for, including an
allocation of Rp 226 million for three people who were not part
of the trip.
The BPK has also found a discrepancy of Rp 1.17 billion in the
use of funds to finance a project known as "Improvement for the
quality of the political process". The office allocated Rp 11.95
billion for the project, but the BPK found that only Rp 10.23
billion was disbursed.
However, based on the BPK report, irregularities at Susilo's
former office were considered small compared with those found at
the Ministry of Communications.
The BPK found irregularities in the use of over Rp 300 billion
in state funds in 2002, spent mostly on 12 infrastructure
projects run by the ministry.
The ministry received Rp 1.40 trillion from the 2002 state
budget for the projects, but only Rp 711 billion was disbursed.
The BPK audited Rp 657 billion of actual expenditure, with
irregularities amounting to Rp 111.13 billion.
The projects include the construction of railway
infrastructure in Yogyakarta, East Java and West Java, and the
improvement of air transportation services in South Sulawesi and
East Java.
The BPK also found that some Rp 161.13 billion in state assets
and some Rp 59.9 billion in state revenues from nontax sources
were not reported by the ministry.
In contrast to the above two institutions, which were led by
retired Army generals, the BPK found no irregularities in its
audit of the Office of the Coordinating Minister for People's
Welfare.
However, the BPK underlined a lack of prudent administration
and internal supervision for future financial accountability at
the office, which, at the time of the audit, was led by Kalla.