BPK lists AGO among top abusers
Dadan Wijaksana, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
The Attorney General's Office (AGO) -- the state body supposedly in the frontline in the fight against corruption -- topped the list of state institutions that have committed "irregularities" in the management of state funds, according to the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK).
In a revelation that poses yet again another challenge for Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is set to become the nation's sixth president, BPK told a House plenary session that the Attorney General's Office has outdone other state agencies with their inefficiency in spending management in the 2003 fiscal year.
"The highest percentage (of irregularities) was found in the Attorney General's Office, covering about 51.8 percent of the total audited funds of Rp 618.7 billion, which is about Rp 320.5 billion," BPK chairman Satrio B. Joedono said.
The percentage was higher than the average rate of irregularities conducted by state agencies during the same period, which stood at around 26.5 percent, Satrio added.
He was conveying the results of BPK's audit before the House members on the use of the state budget by the central and regional governments, ministries and other state agencies, for 2002, 2003 and the first-half of the 2004 fiscal year.
The Ministry of Justice and Human Rights meanwhile, had the lowest percentage in the same category, with irregularities amounting to Rp 6.1 billion.
BPK did not clearly define irregularities -- they could mean outright losses, or simply potential losses, or a discrepancy between the actual use of state funds and the planned use.
Yet, it could still serve as a wake-up call for Susilo who has repeatedly pledged to eradicate corruption -- an area many see the incumbent President Megawati Soekarnoputri has failed to address.
Since the reform era that began in 1998, which was marked by the downfall then president Soeharto, pledges to eradicate the die-hard practice in the country had been made by succeeding administrations.
In total, Satrio said, the audit covered 377 state institutions and firms holding total funds of Rp 1,312 trillion. Irregularities were found in the use of Rp 37.4 trillion, or 2.8 percent of the total funds.
In another part of the report, in the category of management of non-taxable state funds (PNBP), BPK listed the Directorate- General for Post and Telecommunications at the Ministry of Communication as the highest state fund-abuser.
The directorate had misused 81.9 percent of the Rp 1.8 trillion PNBP fund or Rp 1.4 trillion, during the 2003 fiscal year.
This was way above the average rate of misuse by other state agencies, which stood at 32.2 percent.