BPK finds 'missing funds' in budget

BPK finds 'missing funds' in budget

Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Noting a staggering Rp 8.82 trillion (US$929.32 million) missing
from the 2003 state budget, the House of Representatives is
likely to order the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) to carry out an
investigative audit in hopes of clarifying the use of the funds.

A BPK regular audit on the government's 2003 state budget
report, recently submitted to the House, discovered that the
balance recorded at the end of the 2003 state budget period
should have been Rp 34.58 trillion instead of only Rp 25.75
trillion.

The state budget was managed under the administration of
Megawati Soekarnoputri, with Boediono as the minister of finance.

The enormous discrepancy between the figures, according to the
BPK, resulted from the weak internal control system in all
government institutions and violations of finance regulations.

The BPK ended up not giving any opinion to the government's
report due to the ever-present problem of an absence of a
standardized auditing system in government institutions, which
has often led to poor documentation and reporting of fund
management.

It is the fourth time the BPK has rendered no opinion to state
budget expenditure, but the discrepancy seems to be more
extensive than in the past few years.

The alleged discrepancy was also caused by, among other
things, unreported grants received by ministries, undocumented
purchases by the state, inappropriate debt and grant management,
and unreported use of balance.

Although indications of corruption have not been detected as
yet, the House budgetary commission is likely to ask the BPK to
carry out an investigative audit.

However, commission chairman Emir Moeis said the government's
report would be accepted.

"Acceptance of a state budget report is required to make way
for the (regular) audit of following state budgets. But if we
find irregularities worthy of further probing, we will render a
specific motion and ask the BPK to do an investigative audit (on
the 2003 budget)," he said on Friday.

Commission member Djoko Susilo, who hails from the National
Mandate Party (PAN) faction, took a harsher stance, saying that a
stronger measure needed to be taken to deal with the BPK finding.

"I can assure that the PAN faction will not accept this
report, and will propose that the Corruption Eradication
Commission take part in investigating this," he said.

Emir said the commission would start working on its review of
the government and BPK reports on Friday night before submitting
the review to the House plenary session on Monday, to be
deliberated later.

Minister of Finance Yusuf Anwar acknowledged there was a
discrepancy, but placed the guilt on the absence of regional
accountant offices in some areas, unskilled human resources in
accounting, as well as poor information and technology
infrastructure.

Yusuf said the government was not obliged to formally explain
such discrepancies because the law on the state budget only
orders the report for the realization of the state budget.

However, the government will make formal reports of all uses
of and spending for the 2004 state budget, as obliged in Law No.
28/2003 on the 2004 state budget, and is expected to submit them
to the BPK next week.