Councillors protest office renovation

Councillors protest office renovation

BANDUNG, West Java: Several councillors expressed anger on
Monday over Council Speaker Eka Santosa's move to renovate his
office at the City Council building despite the fact that the
Budget Commission had not yet approved the renovation fund.

A member of the budget commission, Yudi Widhiana Adia, told
reporters that the commission was still deliberating over the
renovation fund which is estimated at about Rp 98 million
(US$10,315).

"We were still discussing the urgency of the renovation
because we thought the council speaker's room was still in
perfectly good condition. But then on Saturday, construction work
to renovate the room had already begun," Yudi said.

The renovation was apparently being done with money expected
to be paid to contractor once the 2001 budget had been disbursed.

Beside councillors, council staff workers working in the
adjacent room have also complained as Eka's room is being
widened.

Eka could not be reached for comment on Monday as he was on a
Haj pilgrimage.

Recently, Eka also came under fire as he allegedly purchased a
Toyota Crown sedan costing around Rp 600 million ($63,157) from
funds originally allocated for natural disasters.(25)