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)