City councillors under fire over budget talks

City councillors under fire over budget talks

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

As thousands of people displaced by the recent city-led forced
evictions cry for help, their representatives in City Council are
due to leave for the mountain resort of Puncak, West Java, to
discuss the proposed city budget, drawing strong criticism from
the public and non-governmental organizations.

Some 85 members of the council will convene with members of
the city executive at the luxurious Wisma Jayaraya complex in
Puncak on Wednesday and Thursday next week to discuss the draft
2002 city budget, which was proposed to balance at Rp 8.9
trillion.

But non-governmental organizations have slammed the plan,
saying that the move was a way for the public representatives "to
distance themselves from the public".

Although head of the council Edy Waluyo asserted earlier that
the meeting was open to the public, some critics have said that
by holding the meeting in Puncak, about 60 kilometers south of
Jakarta, public access to the budget talks remained restricted.

"Before the councillors go to Puncak, they should first hold
open discussions with the public to receive feedback, criticism,
complaints and recommendations over the upcoming agenda of the
meeting," said Tubagus Haryo Karbyanto of the Legal Aid Institute
(LBH).

Tubagus contended that the councillors should remember that
the upcoming talks on this year's budget were critical in
deciding the fate of the general public, especially those who
have recently been displaced, reiterating that it was vital that
the public should be involved in drafting the budget.

Tubagus said that councillors should also set a good example
to the public on how to live thriftily, as had been stated by
President Megawati Soekarnoputri to all state officials.

"Why should they hold the meeting in Puncak, which is
obviously going to be expensive, rather than here in Jakarta," he
questioned.

The cost of holding such a meeting is enormous as more than
1,500 people will be present at the meeting. It will not only be
attended by councillors, as staff members of the city
administration will also be present.

A reliable source, who refused to be identified, said that
every commission of the council was tasked to oversee about 30
departments. "If every department sends some 10 people, then at
least 300 city officials will attend the two-day meeting," the
source said, adding that the number excluded staff members.

Tubagus further lambasted the meeting claiming it would only
squander public money for policies that might be against the
public's interest, which included the eviction policy.

However, Maringan Pangaribuan, head of Commission A overseeing
governmental affairs, played down all allegations, saying that
efficiency was the main reason in choosing Puncak as the venue
for discussing the city budget.

Maringan said that their discussions would be more intensive
as all parties involved would stay for the whole two-day meeting,
avoiding "all those things that might distract their attention".

"We can hold uninterrupted talks all day long from early in
the morning until late at night because we are staying at the
same hotel," he argued.

Last year, the council held a similar meeting to discuss the
2001 budget revision, which also sparked public criticism that
claimed such a meeting was a way to keep the public away from the
process of drafting the budget.