City Council approves 2002 budget revision
Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The City Council approved on Friday the revision of the 2002 city budget, which will be increased from Rp 9.3 trillion (US$1.033 billion) to Rp 9.7 trillion, through voting due to a rejection of the revision by two factions.
The factions, the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the Justice Party (PK), disagreed with the allocation of funds worth Rp 54 billion, which were to have been used to finance the busway project, for other projects.
Some 44 councillors, mostly from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) and Golkar Party, agreed with the change in the budget allocation while eight councillors rejected it and two councillors abstained.
"We do not agree with the decision to not retain the fund for the busway in the 2003 budget. The fund should not be used for other projects," PK spokesman Mukhayar R.M. said in a council plenary session.
Mukhayar said the projects that were proposed to replace subway project, were still unclear and had never been planned and discussed with the council.
However, PK which only has four councillors and PAN with 13 councillors could not change the vote of the 85-seat council.
The city administration earlier announced that the busway project, designed to solve the city's traffic problems, was postponed until next year due to the lack of consultation with the public and financial preparation.
Many have said that the project would worsen traffic jams and cause environmental damage because it would involve felling trees in the median strip on Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Thamrin.
After deciding the project would be postponed, the administration then proposed to use the Rp 54 billion busway fund for other projects, including the purchase of digital traffic lights.
However, rumors circulating among councillors have it that the fund and other funds in the budget had been used to finance the recent gubernatorial election in which Governor Sutiyoso was reelected for a second term.
The increase in the projected 2002 budget from Rp 9.3 trillion to Rp 9.7 trillion was due to the increase in city revenue, mainly from taxes.
The city revenue mostly comes from vehicle taxes, which contribute more than 60 percent of total revenue, and income tax.
Asked whether the city administration could reach its revenue target from entertainment centers due to the recent Bali bombing, Deputy Governor Fauzi Bowo replied, "We will see. It also depends on the central government whether it will review the state budget."
However, Fauzi predicted that income from taxes on hotels, restaurants and entertainment centers might decrease due to the Bali bomb blast last week.
But he said the impact would not be significant since hotel, restaurant and entertainment taxes constituted less than 10 percent of the city revenue.
Of the 9.7 trillion budget, Rp 3.62 trillion would be spent for development spending and Rp 6.1 trillion for routine expenditure. Last year's budget amounted to Rp 8.3 trillion.
City councillors earlier criticized the increase in routine expenditure, especially the Rp 10 billion for employees' salaries, although there was no increase in the number of employees.
The reviewed budget also proposed the erection of a new fence for the City Council building worth Rp 450 million, but the proposal was rejected by the city administration.