Fighting graft 'must start at budget debate'

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Just like government officials, corruption watchdogs showed no surprise on Friday at the results of a survey placing Jakarta as the most corrupt city in the country, but for quite different reasons.

The Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra) said that corrupt practices start with budget deliberations that very often take place behind close doors.

"Non-transparent budget deliberations are the beginning of corrupt practices because many backroom deals are made during such discussions," said Fitra executive Yuna Farhan on Friday.

Transparency International Indonesia (TII) unveiled its survey of 21 Indonesian cities, including the capital Jakarta, last Wednesday that showed that Jakarta topped the list as Indonesia's most corrupt city, while Wonosobo in Central Java was rated the least corrupt.

Government officials, however, shrugged off the survey on Thursday, saying that it was totally unacceptable to compare Jakarta with small cities.

Yuna said his organization often received unconfirmed reports of officials offering their cronies in the private sector projects to be financed from the city budget, even while deliberations had not been completed.

He also complained that the administration never opened the draft city budget to public scrutiny despite the fact that it was a public document.

"The administration, for example, never responds to letters from Fitra asking for the draft city budget. It is an indication that there is something wrong with the budget deliberation process," he told The Jakarta Post.

He said that transparent budget deliberations would be an important start in eradicating rampant corruption in the city.

A similar comment came from deputy chairman of the Jakarta Residents Forum (Fakta) Tubagus Haryo Karbyanto, who demanded that the city administration establish complaint and information centers on public services.

"The two centers are important because corruption often occurs in public services. Officials frequently demand that residents pay illegal fees," he said.

He said the administration already had a complaint facility -- a 009 mailbox. Residents can lodge complaints through the facility about any irregular conduct, but many people got frustrated because many of their complaints went unheeded.

"The administration should announce how many letters come to the mailbox each month and how many cases are followed up by the City Audit Body (Bawasda). Such responses may encourage the public to take part in monitoring corruption practices," he said.

According to Tubagus, the proposed information center should facilitate access to all procedures and requirements for people who needed particular services.

He added that the center should also mention official fees and time required to complete specific services.

Yuna shared Tubagus' opinion, saying that information on public services should also be distributed through the official website run by the administration.

"I think all projects offered to the public must be announced through the website," he said.

Tubagus and Yuna agreed that the City Council had an important role to play in preventing corruption if they wished to prove that they were not actual participants in these practices.

Tubagus said councillors have wide access to internal information in the city administration.

"They can cooperate with non-governmental organizations and the media to disclose their findings if they really want to," he told the Post.