Council chides Sutiyoso over budget shortfalls

Council chides Sutiyoso over budget shortfalls

JAKARTA (JP): While praising the administration for exceeding
its budgetary targets, city councillors took Jakarta Governor
Sutiyoso to task on Friday over the shortfalls in some of the
revenues during the 1999/2000 fiscal year.

The administration said total revenues reached Rp 1.69
trillion (US$198 million) during the year ending March 31, or
25.6 percent higher than the Rp 1.35 trillion target.

But at a council's plenary session to review the
administration's budget performance, most factions, including the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), the
National Mandate Party (PAN), Golkar Party and the United
Development Party (PPP), questioned the shortfalls in vehicle
tax, fuel tax, parking fees and dividends from city-owned
companies.

They pointed out that the Rp 913.5 billion total revenue from
vehicle tax was Rp 600 billion short of the potential income
figure they had obtained from the Jakarta Police Headquarters,
which collects and administers vehicle taxes.

The Vehicle Document Processing Department at the police
headquarters contributed an average of Rp 6 billion each working
day to the administration's coffers, giving a total annual
potential of more than Rp 1.5 trillion, they said.

Tjuk Sudono of PAN urged city officials to submit details on
the number of taxable vehicles in Jakarta.

Councillors said the Rp 7.3 billion income from vehicle fuel
tax fell far short of the targeted Rp 57.7 billion, raising
questions about the central government's policy to phase out the
fuel subsidy.

The administration has blamed the shortfall on the central
government for not paying Jakarta's full entitlement. The law
states that regional administrations are automatically entitled
to a 10 percent tax on local fuel sales.

Tjuk said the administration could have secured Rp 36 billion
in net income from parking fees, six times the Rp 5.6 million
collected in the 1999/2000 fiscal year, with improved and more
professional management.

He said if 30 percent of the two million vehicles in Jakarta
paid Rp 500 for parking facilities every day, the city would have
collected a gross revenue of Rp 90 billion. Deducting 60 percent
for operational expenses, the administration would still be left
with Rp 36 billion.

Jannes Pardosi of the PDI Perjuangan faction said the Rp 32
billion contribution from city-owned companies was too small.

"The companies failed to conduct good planning, implementation
and monitoring," he said, adding that they had failed to live up
to the term Jaya, used by the companies for their names.

Jaya, which is short for Jakarta Raya (Greater Jakarta), also
means prosperous in Bahasa Indonesia.

Sutiyoso is scheduled to give his response on June 26. (06)