Council unwilling to follow Sutiyoso in allocation cut
Council unwilling to follow Sutiyoso in allocation cut
Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Governor Sutiyoso has agreed to a reduction in the Rp 9 billion
(US$1 million) allocated to him in the 2003 draft city budget to
about Rp 5 billion, but city councillors are against the idea,
saying it should be cut by just Rp 950 million.
"I checked the allocation of the money and suggested it be
decreased to about Rp 5 billion," Sutiyoso announced at City Hall
on Monday.
He expressed hope that the reduction would prompt a
willingness on the part of councillors to agree to a reduction in
the allocation for them. The allocation for councillors is Rp 122
billion.
He said the money saved by the reductions in allocations for
the governor, councillors and city officers could be added to the
allocations for public projects, such as the East Flood Canal
project and the development of low-cost apartments.
However, a special council team that was assigned to devise
the budget disagreed with Sutiyoso, and instead suggested cutting
the governor's allocation by Rp 950 million, or about 10 percent.
The team, consisting of 32 city councillors and city
officials, agreed to cut the allocation for the 85 councillors by
only 3 percent, or about Rp 4.5 billion.
The team's chairwoman, Anna Rudhiantiana, revealed that Rp 122
billion, not Rp 91 billion as reported earlier, would be
allocated for the councillors.
She said most of the councillors were against having their
allocation significantly reduced.
"I suggested that our allocation could be decreased by 10
percent, but other councillors rejected the idea," Anna, who is
also chairwoman of the council's Commission C for financial and
budgetary affairs, said on Monday.
She revealed that the meetings to discuss the allocation of
funds, which started on Saturday, were marked by heated arguments
when the councillors discussed the amount they would receive.
Separately, special council team member Fathomy Ashari
revealed that the council rejected the governor's suggestion of a
40 percent decrease from Rp 9 billion to Rp 5 billion, saying
that as a public leader, it was necessary for the governor to
have such an amount at his disposal.
"The governor as a public leader needs the funds. For example,
he often donates money when visiting certain areas," Fathomy of
the Golkar Party said.
According to the draft budget, the Rp 9 billion is to be used
to cover, among other things, the governor's coffee morning (Rp
90 million), clothing allowance (Rp 65 million) and health
allowance (Rp 100 million).
The Rp 122 billion for councillors is to be used for, among
other things, the councillors' salaries, a transportation
allowance of Rp 42.38 billion, a clothing allowance of Rp 1
billion, a welfare allowance of Rp 19 billion, a meeting
allowance of Rp 1.5 billion and a rice allowance of Rp 84
million.
In an apparent display of power, city councillors decided on
Saturday to reject dozens of projects worth billions of rupiah in
the draft budget, including the allocation of Rp 475 million for
the development of a mangrove forest along the Prof. Sedyatmo
toll road in West Jakarta.
Councillor Dani Anwar of the Justice Party revealed that the
2002 budget had allocated Rp 1 billion for the mangrove forest
project, last year.
"We rejected the additional funding this year since we should
first check the project. Rp 1 billion is enough for the project,"
Dani of Commission B for economic affairs said.
The 2003 draft budget, which amounts to Rp 11.06 billion, is
expected to be approved by the council by the end of this month.
Besides the allocation of Rp 9 billion for the governor and Rp
122 billion for the councillors, many city agencies and offices
have also allocated funds for the city's leaders.