Auditors find no markup in elevator purchase
Auditors find no markup in elevator purchase
Damar Harsanto, Jakarta
There were no irregularities in the procurement of a new elevator
for the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta, the Jakarta
Audit Agency said on Thursday.
On Wednesday, eight Jakarta councillors called on the agency
to perform an audit following allegations there had been a markup
in the price of the elevator by the Jakarta Culture and Museum
Agency.
"We did not discover any irregularities in the procurement of
the elevator," audit agency head Firman Hutajulu said at City
Hall on Thursday.
He showed a copy of the city's 2003 work plan indicating the
administration had planned since the beginning to use Chinese-
made (Japanese) Hitachi elevator to replace the old one, which
was in service from 1994 to last year.
The 2003 city budget had specified the cost of buying and
installing the new elevator was Rp 1.7 billion (US$196,532).
Councillors had alleged the presence of a markup, following
their finding the elevator "had different specifications from the
product type as stipulated" in the city budget.
The allegations arose after the Monas elevator experienced
technical problems twice since it began service in January. On
Sunday, the new Chinese-made Hitachi elevator jammed when the
automatic lock on the elevator door was damaged after visitors
crammed into the elevator. The jam trapped dozens of tourists
on the 117-meter high Monas tower's observation deck for about
two hours.
Earlier on March 23, dozens of kindergarten students were
trapped inside the elevator after the power went off.
Firman said the new elevator was equipped with a five-year
warranty and supporting technicians were available to back up its
operation. He could not give details on the old elevator's
specifications.
He pointed the finger at Monas management head Surya Darma
Basri for his failure in anticipating a massive influx of
visitors on Sunday and said overcrowding had led to the break
down.
"The incident was purely caused by human error. No technical
failure was involved," he said.
Firman said his agency had quizzed five members of the Monas
management team about the incident.
Following Sunday's elevator breakdown, Governor Sutiyoso had
ordered the Monas management to stop the elevator's operation for
a month starting on May 5 for repairs. However, Monas staff were
continuing to operate the elevator on Wednesday.
Sutiyoso said he would issue a written order to the Monas
management to close down the elevator.