Governor Sutiyoso to fire city-owned firms' executives

Governor Sutiyoso to fire city-owned firms' executives

JAKARTA (JP): City Governor Sutiyoso threatened to dismiss
executives of city-owned companies who continued to suffer losses
and could not contribute to the city's income in the next few
years.

"We will evaluate your positions if you are unable to reach
the set targets," Sutiyoso told the executives during a meeting
on Thursday night.

He said he would not hesitate to dismiss them if, based on his
evaluation, they could not reach company targets.

He said that the meeting was conducted following criticism
from city councillors who expressed concerned over the companies'
poor performance.

Meanwhile city administrative assistant Makmun Amin said the
executives' performance would still be evaluated even if Sutiyoso
was not reelected next year.

"Sutiyoso's policy will be continued by his successor," Makmun
told reporters on Friday.

During the plenary session on Monday, many factions in the
city criticized the city-owned firms for their lack of
contribution to the city's revenue.

In the session factions evaluated Sutiyoso's accountability
speech on the 2000 city budget presented by the governor last
month.

The factions alleged that the companies suffered continuous
losses as they were being used by certain officials "as milking
cows".

Despite the criticisms, the majority of the factions accepted
the accountability speech and only two minor factions rejected
it.

Taxes and levies contributed 70 percent to the Rp 4.8 trillion
city budget while the remaining 30 percent came from the city-
owned companies.

According to Sutiyoso the companies only reached 80 percent of
their target income, last year.

The city administration has 25 companies and joint venture
companies. Only some of them contribute to the city's income,
including market operator PD Pasar Jaya, recreational operator
and developer PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol.

Some others still suffered losses due to their huge debt,
including city tap water companies PAM Jaya, tourism firm PT
Wisata Niaga, developer PT Pembangunan Sarana Jaya and slaughter
house PD Dharma Jaya.

Besides the firms, the city also has several agencies which
were expected to contribute to city income. However, some of
them, including the city's parking agency BP Parkir, are still
being subsidized.

The city administration plans to hand over the management of
BP Parkir to two private companies to handle the city's parking
facilities in an effort to generate more income. (jun)