Corruption mars councillors' housing development

Corruption mars councillors' housing development

Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post, Bandarlampung

A Lampung-based corruption watchdog has revealed a conspiracy
between the Lampung provincial legislative council and a real
estate developer in the construction of 26 houses for
councillors.

The construction of the 26 houses, the funds of which had been
proposed by the legislative council to be taken from the 2002
supplementary budget, had reportedly begun in 1999, or three
years before the project's proposal was submitted by the council.

"We traced the construction of the 26 houses three months ago.
They are located in Sukabumi subdistrict, Sukarame district in
Bandar Lampung. Residents in the surrounding neighborhood said
the construction of the houses had begun in 1999 by construction
firm PT Rendi Utama Jaya," said Coordinator of the Lampung
Anticorruption Committee, Ahmad Yulden Erwin, on Friday.

Erwin said that due to strong public criticism of the alleged
misuse of Lampung's provincial budget, the marking board on the
construction site of the 26 houses had been removed two years
ago.

Besides the construction of the councillors' housing, the
legislative council is also seeking to obtain Rp 2 billion
(US$222,222) from the council's routine budget for the
procurement of 16 official cars for councillors.

For the current fiscal year, the Lampung provincial
administration has allocated an extra budget of Rp 100 billion,
which was collected from the 2001 provincial budget surplus,
amounting to Rp 72.436 billion, the increase in revenue split
from oil and gas worth Rp 19 billion, and the remaining Rp 10
billion from provincial revenue.

Previously, the deputy speaker of the Lampung provincial
legislative council, Mochtar Hasan, said that one-third of the 75
council members would receive official housing this year.

Mochtar, however, denied allegations that the council had
recommended certain developers to carry out the housing
construction project.

President of PT Rendi Utama Jaya, Darwis Merawi, admitted that
his company was building 26 houses for the councillors after
securing the council's approval in 2000.

"The approval from Lampung provincial legislative council was
issued on Oct. 9, 2000. Based on the council's approval, we then
proceeded with the construction," Darwis said.

He said his company had secured a contract to develop houses,
worth Rp 120 million each, for 75 Lampung provincial councillors
in Sukarame district.

"But, for the initial phase, we will construct 26 houses
first. The rest will be built after we obtain approval for the
use of the provincial budget," he said.

A number of councillors contacted by The Jakarta Post declined
to comment on the alleged conspiracy.

But rumors are rife that the legislative council had endorsed
a number of projects carried out by the provincial offices of the
state ministries, in return for fees provided by chief officers
of the project based on a percentage of the project's value.

Government Decree No. 11o/2000 on the position and structural
relationship between the House of Representatives and the lower
provincial, regency-level legislative councils stipulates that
councils are not supposed to get involved with any business deals
or commercial projects.

In an attempt to escape the sanctions stipulated in the
decree, the legislative council and the provincial administration
reportedly came up with an understanding that it would be the
provincial administration that would submit the project's
proposals to secure the 2002 supplementary budget.

"So, as the proposal has come from the provincial
administration, there will be no procedural violations in the
implementation of the project," Erwin explained.

Erwin alleged that the provincial administration's willingness
to take the initiative to submit the project's proposals was
connected with incumbent Governor Oemarsono's plan to run for
another gubernatorial term in the upcoming election in December.

"Therefore, it's natural to see all project proposals granted
by the legislative council ... All of these are part of a
conspiracy (to help smoothen Oemarsono's renomination)," he said.

He said the conspiracy began with the council's endorsement to
the governor's accountability speech earlier this year as the
move was then followed with the granting of Rp 1.2 billion to the
councillors.

A councillor of the Justice Party (PK) faction, Abdul Hakim,
however, said that not all councillors had taken the money from
the governor.

"I and a councillor from the National Mandate Party (PAN) were
among those who refused to take money," he said.