Disadvantaged citizens demand budget revision

Disadvantaged citizens demand budget revision

JAKARTA (JP): More than 1,500 disadvantaged people, including
hundreds of pedicab drivers, staged a rally in front of the City
Council on Monday, demanding that it revise the 2001 City Budget
which was considered extravagant and neglectful of the people's
real needs.

Organized by the Non-governmental Organizations' Coalition for
Budget Transparency (KOTA), hundreds arrived in pedicabs from
five mayoralties causing heavy traffic congestion on Jl. Kebon
Sirih, Central Jakarta.

The group's representatives, including Wardah Hafidz of the
Urban Poor Consortium (UPC) and Zoemrotin K. Susilo of the
Indonesian Consumer Institute Foundation (YLKI), were received by
six councillors from the Council's Commission C for budgetary
affairs.

In pressing their demands, the group even "detained" the
councillors, asking them to approve a revision.

Commission C chairman Amarullah Asbah agreed but maintained
that the council could only start to review the budget in April.

"The council leadership will meet tomorrow, we will convey
your demands to them," Amarullah of the Golkar Party said.

The city budget appropriation hit the headlines when the city
purchased 55 sedans at a total cost of Rp 5.5 billion
(US$550,000) last month for councillors despite the fact that
they already each received a subsidy of Rp 75 million for the
purchase of vehicles.

During a dialog with the councillors, Zoemrotin burst into
tears upon hearing the statement by councillor Gafar Malik that
it was acceptable for the councillors to receive the Hyundai
sedans.

"The cost of purchasing the sedans was less than one percent
of the remainder of the 2000 City Budget. It's for all of us,"
Gafar of the Indonesian Military (TNI)/Police faction, claimed.

Zoemrotin regretted the councillor's statement, saying that
the councillors had no sensitivity and no sense of crisis whilst
people in the city had to struggle everyday with public
transportation.

"The council should have made it a priority to improve public
transportation, instead of purchasing the sedans for the
councillors," she said in tears.

KOTA demanded the council complete the revision of the 2001
budget by April.

"If the budget is not revised by April, we will campaign and
urge people not to pay property or vehicle taxes," Zoemrotin
added.

Difficult

But Councillor Amarullah told reporters that the demand would
be difficult to meet as the budget had been adopted in accordance
with the law.

KOTA took the view that the city budget which amounted Rp 7.49
trillion was unbalanced since Rp 5 trillion or 67 percent of it
was allocated for routine expenditure while the remainder was for
development.

It questioned several duplications on the budget, such as the
collection of property taxes which was specified twice (Rp 62
billion and Rp 5 billion) and the cost of civilian security
guards (Rp 1 billion and 11 million).

There was also question marks concerning the Governor's
allowance for clothing (Rp 40 million), health (Rp 78 million),
official residence maintenance (Rp 480 million) and
transportation (Rp 175 million).

The group regretted the small amounts allocated in the budget
for poor people, such as nutrition improvement which amounted to
just Rp 925 million, disease prevention Rp 5.6 billion, poverty
alleviation Rp 650 million and social rehabilitation Rp 1.43
billion. (jun)