Central Jakarta Mayor okays leasing of city assets

JAKARTA (JP): Central Jakarta Mayor Andi Subur Abdullah said on Tuesday that his office would let city assets be leased to third parties as long as the deals benefited the city's revenue and the assets were maintained.

"The leasing of city assets is tolerable only when the arrangements are in line with valid procedures and intended to maintain the assets from deterioration," he told reporters on the sidelines of a City Council plenary meeting on Tuesday.

It was reported that several assets, such as subdistrict offices, were being leased to third parties and used for economic activities instead of public services.

"I've followed up on those reports and found that the offices were no longer in use. The leasing was meant to keep the offices from deterioration and to get additional funds for maintenance activities," Andi said.

"You know we have a very limited maintenance budget. By leasing the offices, we can get more maintenance funds," he added.

The mayor, however, said none of the existing leasing agreements were made upon his consent.

"I have ordered my officials to return the assets and stop the leasing agreements. Interested parties have to follow standard procedures before using the assets," he said.

"Besides, such agreements are prone to irregularities and it will be difficult to get accountable reports," he added.

He said he preferred to lend the offices to local residents than to business ventures.

"Local residents can use the assets for their benefit, such as for meeting places. While, business ventures only benefit the owners," he said, pointing out that leasing the assets to businesspeople would mean more money for the administration.

"But we must be very careful that the offices still belong to the administration. We have to prevent that the ownership of the leased assets from being transferred to the proprietors," he added.

On Monday, head of City Assets Office Husein Jawas told reporters that the offices had been used for commercial activities, such as minimarkets, telecommunication shops or even movie theaters by the heads or former heads of the subdistricts.

"The former office of Kebon Kelapa subdistrict in East Jakarta, for example, is being leased for Rp 4.5 million, while the former office of Petojo subdistrict in Central Jakarta is being leased for Rp 5.4 million. Both former offices were turned into telecommunication shops," he said.

"Meanwhile, the former office of Karang Anyar subdistrict in Central Jakarta is even being leased for free and has been turned into a minimarket," he added.

Husein aired concern over the lease agreement because the ownership of city assets could be transferred to the proprietors.

"My office's responsibility is just to list the leased assets and make a report to City Secretary Fauzi Bowo. But we do not have the authority to take any action," he said. (nvn)