Belt-tightening measures get councilors' support

Belt-tightening measures get councilors' support

JAKARTA (JP): The municipality's tight 1998/1999 draft budget
received a nod of approval from city councilors but they urged
the administration to be thrifty in all sectors and not waver.

When contacted yesterday, the councilors told The Jakarta Post
that city officials should be more creative in order to make
projects more effective and efficient.

"The significant drop in the draft budget is a great challenge
for all of us and needs creative responses, concepts and ideas,"
head of City Council Commission D for public works, development
and environmental affairs, Ali Wongso Sinaga, said.

"We have no reasons to back off because zero economic growth
doesn't mean that development should be halted."

The city, for example, could hire a single company -- instead
on dozens -- to do the maintenance work for all administration
offices in a district, Ali Wongso said.

"By doing so, we could cope with the significant drop in
maintenance expenditure as proposed by the city."

Chairman of the United Development Party faction Achmad Suaidy
praised the city's proposal to further cut expenditure for
official trips.

"This is the correct time for all city officials to learn how
to be effective and efficient in all of their activities," he
said.

But, Achmad suggested the city avoid slashing maintenance
expenditure for public facilities, such as health centers.

"The current budget is already too small. So, you can just
imagine how the clinics would look later?"

The draft budget submitted by Governor Sutiyoso before a City
Council plenary session Wednesday stood at Rp 2.79 trillion, a
10.42 percent decrease from the previous year's Rp 3.22 trillion.

The decrease is calculated on zero economic growth and 25
percent inflation in the city.

In his speech, the governor called on all city employees to
have a "sense of crisis" in order to think clearly and take
immediate action to face up to the economic woes.

More than 61 percent, or Rp 1.70 trillion, of the draft budget
will be used for routine expenditure and the remaining Rp 1.09
trillion for development expenditure.

The proposed routine expenditure represents a 14 percent drop
compared to the previous budget, while development expenditure
has taken a 22 percent cut.

The declines, some of which are more than 400 percent, will
hit almost every sector, ranging from projects, public health,
education and maintenance and renovations.

Some of the worst-affected sectors will be the governor's
financial assistance (300 percent decrease to Rp 1.5 billion),
trade, the development of city firms, regional funds and
cooperatives (down 447 percent to Rp 29.3 billion),
transportation (down 60 percent to Rp 100.57 billion) and debt
services (down 12 percent to Rp 52.2 billion).

"The situation we are facing now is critical. Because of its
emergency status, an extraordinary way of handling this is
required," Sutiyoso told the plenary session.

Slight funding increases will be funneled into social welfare
and public facilities to help deal with the ailing economy.

More will be spent on land and water transportation (up 6.5
percent to Rp 25.87 billion), education, culture, religion, youth
affairs and sport (up 4.36 percent to Rp 97.84 billion),
population and welfare (increased to Rp 18.6 billion from only Rp
1.4 billion).

The budget's primary source is locally generated revenue
amounting to Rp 1.72 trillion, which has undergone a 15.86
percent drop from Rp 2.03 trillion in the ongoing fiscal year.

The draft budget has cut funding to some city businesses
including those that manage parking lots, bus terminals and
Ragunan Zoo.

In the previous fiscal year, the city's seven management firms
received Rp 30.47 billion in expenditure.

It is hoped that improvements to be made to the taxable
property (NJOP) mechanism will lead to a significant increase in
the city's revenue from the land and building ownership tax.

Besides that, in the 1998/1999 fiscal year, the administration
will collect a fuel tax.

The municipality will now seek approval from the Council --
which will hold another plenary meeting on the draft Monday --
before the city budget comes into effect on April 1.
(ind/bsr/edt)