Councillors may lose facilities

TANGERANG: Upon learning that most of the former Tangerang Council members neglected or stripped their official residences, Mayor Wahidin Halim is mulling eliminating the facility for new councillors.

"The councillors have their own houses... It would be more effective if the complex was used to accommodate the administrative staff or be converted into a sports club," he said on Tuesday.

The Bumi Berhias housing complex in Bantar Gebang subdistrict, Periuk district, Tangerang, comprises 45 houses for councillors and nine for council administrative staff.

Wahidin said the administration provided each councillor Rp 1 million (US$108) in maintenance funds for the official residences.

"Instead of repairing the houses, they used the money to pay their utility bills," he said.

Council secretary Daryanto said none of the new councillors had moved into the housing complex. He said the administration did not have an extra budget to repurchase missing furniture and telephones, worth Rp 900 million, nor did it have the Rp 1.3 billion needed to repair the houses. -- JP