'Bujet' magazine in Bandung builds transparency from the region

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

The Bandung-based Bujet monthly magazine, which campaigns on the importance of monitoring the local administration budget, making it a very unique publication in the country. Below are excerpts of an interview with its chief editor, Dedi Haryadi, a researcher who was instrumental in setting up the Bandung Institute for Government Studies (BIGS).

Question: What led you to start this magazine?

Answer: We initially wanted to work with the media to publish our study results, but they were not always published, and we also wanted to publish our studies on the budget in detail. The media does not publish detailed reports ... For example if it's reported that the wealth of the Bandung mayor is Rp 2 billion, we have more data, such as on the source of the money. The psychological impact is different if you publish the details. Why did you choose Bandung?

Because it is this administration which relates directly to the people's needs here through the provision of public services. Another factor is regional autonomy. Transparency of budget management at the regional level reflects that of the center. How important is a transparent budget?

At BIGS we have three divisions working on budget transparency, accountability of public services, and institutional and political process. The first issue forms the core of relations between civil society, business and the state.

To a certain degree public welfare is determined by what the budget includes, which contain the right of people to be engaged in the process, the right to information and the right of budget allocation of basic needs. The budget reveals the degree of the government's commitment in, for instance, ensuring the provision of food supplies, housing, education and health services.

So far, corruption has been pervasive mainly in the budgetary process because there is no transparency. If the process was more transparent KKN (collusion, corruption and nepotism) could be stopped, or at least reduced to a minimum.

From your nine publications since last year, could you mention some results of the investigations published?

At least two most important issues regarding Bandung municipality were, first, the corruption in the general affairs division under the former township secretary.

The administration, through this division, spent Rp 19.2 billion without a proper bid procedure, and without the legislative council's knowledge, and asked the council to approve the expenditure. The case remains unresolved and has never been raised again in the media since the municipality's secretary, Dada Rosada, became the new mayor.

The second issue was "Ormas-gate" (referring to a scandal involving certain organizations), the case of unfair allocation in this year's budget by the administration and council of some Rp 86 billion plus another Rp 10 billion for professional associations. How could the government allocate so much for professional organizations and those affiliated to political parties, while it only allocated Rp 8 billion for education, and Rp 7 billion to maintain Bandung's 1,000 kilometers of roads?

How does Bujet conduct its investigations?

We only have one reporter, one editor, one managing editor and one designer. We used to hunt for information everywhere but now many sources send us various data, we just have to dig further and do some checks and balances (on the information and sources).

What is your estimate of the comparison between expenditure for the public and that for routine government affairs?

In 2000 it was still 76 percent for routine expenses and 23 percent for the public. In 2003 it was a bit more balanced at 60 percent for routine government costs and 40 percent for the public. But it turned out that things for the government had been slipped into a category of public spending -- such as costs for training for civil servants. So we must scrutinize who benefits the most from the budget. It's still the government and the legislative council (DPRD).

How many copies do you print; who do you distribute them to?

We print 1,000 copies and distribute them free to those who influence policy-making such as members of the DPRD and bureaucracy, NGOs, academics and journalists, that's about 600 copies. The remainder is distributed to the wider public.

How much influence do you think it has had?

We can't claim any changes influenced by Bujet yet. It is more of a public education tool about the budgeting process. Compared to one or two years ago the public, in general, seems more aware of the issues. Officials and DPRD members who are critical but cannot get (their views and information) published (in the general media) can give their information to us. This is important, Bujet then bridges public curiosity and officials who wish to improve budget management.

How do you view the stance of political parties in the DPRD regarding leaks and gaps between public and government spending?

Those who still display some common sense are the minority -- the Islamic parties in the council, so they lose in the process of approving the budget, to big parties like the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) and Golkar. But most importantly, there are still elected council members who have common sense.

What has been the most significant change in the budget format, which used to be oriented to programs, compared to the current format based on performance of the administration?

Not much; fraud and manipulation are still widespread. What is new is just the categorizing of things and the terms used. The spirit and implementation is just the same, which leads to cases like "Ormasgate" and others. Another example is the case of 11 council members going on the haj (annual trip to Mecca, Saudi Arabia -- an obligation for Muslims at least once in their life) and having it paid for by taxpayers through the budget. They still mix private and public affairs.

So can you be optimistic about being able to contribute changes in the budgeting process and management?

Our campaign is a small part of eliminating corruption of the regional budget. In advanced countries there are five factors in minimizing corruption -- an orderly election, an opposition, an independent judiciary and an independent press.

The campaign's target is the public because the administration and the council changes every five years. It is the public who are the most important in determining that change. It is thus a long process ...

Surely you have difficulties in funding a publication which is distributed for free?

We have had support from USAID (United States Agency for International Development) and the Ford Foundation from America. The Ford Foundation still supports us though USAID funds have stopped. We're still committed to publishing this magazine in the next two years at least. We'll also expand our focus to include the West Java provincial budget.