Bappenas must account for safety fund leakage

Bappenas must account for safety fund leakage

JAKARTA (JP): The National Development Planning Board
(Bappenas) must account for the leakage of Rp 8.6 trillion in the
social safety net program for the needy, a government official
said.

"Bappenas must be responsible for the leakage in the social
safety net funds because it is the only government institution
which has controlled the funds, distributed them and designed
projects for their usage. It should not blame a certain political
party for the leakage," Director General of Manpower Placement
and Development at the Ministry of Manpower Din Samsuddin said on
Friday.

State Minister of National Development Planning and Bappenas
chairman Boediono said recently that part of the funds had not
reached their intended recipients because they had been used by a
political party.

The coordinator of a group which has protested the abuse of
social safety net funds, Wardah Hafidz of the Urban Poor
Consortium, has said evidence pointed to the Golkar Party abusing
the funds to further their political interests.

Despite protests, the minister insisted the government would
go ahead with the social safety net project to help the poor
survive the economic crisis.

Funds for the 1998/1999 fiscal year amount to Rp 17.9
trillion.

Boediono has called on the Government Development Audit Agency
to audit the funds' usage and bring to court those involved in
the leakage.

Representative of the ruling Golkar Party at the General
Elections Commission Mahadi Sinambela slammed what he said were
baseless accusations.

"Golkar is ready to be punished if it is proven guilty of
embezzling the funds for political activities. On the other hand,
Bappenas or its officials should be given stiff sanctions if they
committed faults," he said.

Din said the ministry should be allowed to take part again in
the social safety net program to help ease unemployment.

The next stage of the program does not allocate funds to
ministries, as the fund use is considered less urgent.

Din said the labor intensive projects and those for skilled
and dismissed workers should be continued to ease unemployment.

He said during the 1998/99 fiscal year the ministry employed
approximately one million workers in projects worth Rp 1
trillion. (rms)