City expects surplus revenue of $77 million

City expects surplus revenue of $77 million

JAKARTA (JP): Governor Sutiyoso on Wednesday submitted a
proposal to the council to amend the ongoing (April-December)
2000 city budget following an unexpected surplus in the city's
revenue which could reach around Rp 669.7 billion (US$77 million)
by the end of the period.

Delivering the proposal in a plenary session at the City
Council building, the governor said the estimated surplus would
boost the city's overall revenue by 19.76 percent from Rp 3.38
trillion, which was endorsed recently by the council, to Rp 4.05
trillion.

In his speech, Sutiyoso disclosed that the startling hike in
the city's revenue was mostly contributed from the surplus of the
previous budget and vehicle tax revenue.

"Previously, we estimated the surplus in the 1999/2000 budget
would be at Rp 624.69 billion, but the real figure turned out to
be Rp 879,32 billion, or about a Rp 254.62 billion hike," he
said.

The significant increase, he added, was also caused by the
efforts of his administration to gain more revenue by creating
greater efficiency in all sectors, including making several cuts
in the administration's routine and development spending.

The administration estimated an outstanding hike in the
revenue from vehicle tax and from fees collected for the changing
of vehicle ownership during the nine-month budget period.

The fee collected for the changing of vehicle ownership is
predicted to raise an extra Rp 290.69 billion, soaring by almost
97 percent from the initial estimated figure, Sutiyoso said.

The vehicle tax revenue would raise an additional sum of Rp
35.88 billion, which is about 10 percent up from the previous
estimation, he added.

"The increase is very much related to the government's policy
to allow the import of completely built-up vehicles," the
governor said.

The other factor that might boost the city's revenue in the
ongoing budget is the additional Rp 45.07 billion subsidy from
the central government which was initially projected at Rp 1.40
trillion.

The additional revenue marked the start of the implementation
of the law on financial distribution between the central and
regional governments, he said.

Until the first three months of the budget period, the capital
showed an economic growth of 9.56 percent, which indicates a
significant improvement for the city up until the end of the
year, he said.

"All economic sectors have shown positive signs of
improvement, except for a few sectors that are still showing some
negative growth," he added.

However, Sutiyoso stressed that the growth rate was still
prone to changes given that Jakarta's economic condition was
dependent on the country's political and social stability.

"I urge all city security officers to help tighten security in
the capital to maintain a conducive situation," he said.

Sutiyoso also proposed a hike in the city's spending for the
construction of public facilities or to pay the additional 1,136
civil servants who were employed following the central
government's decision to liquidate some departments, for example.

"I suggested the expenditure (for the sector) be increased by
25.80 percent or Rp 609.525 billion," Sutiyoso said.

The biggest amount of the proposed additional funds would be
used for the development of public facilities, including the
rehabilitation of the city's bus terminals, construction of more
roads and other facilities, he added.

"The city also has to finance some 1,136 more employees
because of the central government's decision to liquidate some of
the departments," Sutiyoso said.

Asked to comment on the city administration's proposal,
councillor Abdul Aziz Matnur from the United Development Party
simply said: "We can understand his reasoning, however the
discussion will continue tomorrow (Thursday)." (dja)