Govt strives to fight illegal levies at port

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto said yesterday that the government will fight illegal levies at Jakarta's Tanjung Priok port.

Dhanutirto told newsmen following a meeting with President Soeharto that a recent investigation by his ministry confirmed businessmen's complaints about rampant illegal charges at the country's largest port.

"My officials who disguised themselves as port service users found out that the handling cost of a container at the port amounts to Rp 26,000 per day," he said.

Since the port handles about 10,000 containers a day, the illegal payments to port officials may reach Rp 260 million (US$121,000) per day.

Dhanutirto added that document processing at Tanjung Priok will be computerized to minimize personal contacts between officials and port service users.

The investigators, he added, discovered seven areas where officials and company employees had to make personal contacts in the processing of container freight documents.

"We will minimize these personal contact points," he stated.

He said computer processing systems also would be introduced at other major sea ports to expedite document processing.

Dhanutirto said President Soeharto fully supports his plan to as unnecessary costs affect the country's export competitiveness.

Exporters and importers have complained in the past that the illegal charges not only raise shipping costs but also slow the movement of goods.

Dhanutirto added that since receipts are not written for payoffs, a firms employee in charge of handling container freight at the port could easily pad his "expense account."

"I suspect therefore that businessmen might have paid much more than what was actually handed over by their employees to port officials," Dhanutirto said. (icn/vin)