Budget for governor's wardrobe to be reviewed

Budget for governor's wardrobe to be reviewed

JAKARTA (JP): You are what you wear. That must be what
Governor Sutiyoso had in mind when proposing an increase in the
allowance for his official wardrobe from Rp 40 million to Rp 60
million for this year.

And while the city councillors are finding themselves in hot
water for having too much fun during their overseas trips, the
governor has also proposed an increase in the allocation for his
official trips from Rp 165 million to Rp 445 million.

As for the health fund, he has proposed that it be increased
from Rp 78 million to Rp 138 million, while for the maintenance
of his residence and office, he has asked that the allocation be
increased from Rp 480 million to Rp 705 million.

The proposals were made by the city administration earlier
this week in a review of the city budget 2001, which if accepted
would result in it rising from Rp 7.495 trillion to Rp 8.1
trillion.

"It shows that Sutiyoso and his administration have no sense
of crisis. It's just wasting public money," head of the urban
division of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute Tubagus Karbyanto
told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

He questioned the use of the budget since most of the revenue
in the budget was taken from taxes.

As for the wardrobe allowance, Tubagus said Sutiyoso should
display the clothes that he had bought so far during his term.

"Maybe he can open a clothes store after his term ends next
year," he said.

He was also worried that city councillors would ask for
similar wardrobe allowances to the one Sutiyoso was seeking. He
said the council had earlier demanded the same facilities as
those received by officials in the city administration, such as
the provision of a sauna.

Separately, Sutiyoso claimed on Friday that the proposals had
been made without his knowledge.

He said that he had told his subordinates to review the
proposals. "I have always told my assistants not to increase
these allocations. I told them to increase the allocations
destined for the public," Sutiyoso told reporters at City Hall.

The city administration is expected to receive an increase in
revenue from individual income tax and other taxes amounting to
Rp 537 billion.

The allocation for routine expenditure, such as for the
salaries of city employees, would be increased from Rp 4.9
trillion to Rp 5.5 trillion, while the funds for informal sector
development, currently budgeted at Rp 650 million, and the
allocation for the construction of facilities for the informal
sector, currently Rp 3 billion, would remain the same. (jun)