Govt told to quickly draft budget bill
Govt told to quickly draft budget bill
Dadan Wijaksana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government should speed up the drawing-up process of the
2005 state budget bill so that its deliberation would not be
disrupted too much by the election, which is expected to keep
lawmakers busy, according to a senior legislator.
Poltak Sitorus, deputy chairman of the House of
Representatives' Commission IX on financial and budget affairs
said on Tuesday that the House's leaders had given the Commission
a mandate to prepare for the deliberation as early as possible.
"We've been given the deadline until October (to complete the
deliberation of the budget). The election makes the process
different than that of the previous years," said Poltak.
"So, if we can start the deliberation in March, the deadline
is achievable. That's why the government needs to quickly submit
the bill to the House."
In the previous years, the deliberation usually begins in
August before being passed on into a law sometime in November or
December.
As members of political parties, many of the current lawmakers
would engage in a lengthy campaign activities during the
election, which will start in April all the way until September.
A total of 24 parties will compete for some 145 million voters
qualified to select legislators and the President.
Poltak said that the new schedule would be presented in the
next House's sitting period. Currently, the House is enjoying a
four-week recess which will end on Jan. 15.
Poltak's remarks imply that the House wanted that all budget-
making process -- from drafting, deliberation to the enactment of
the budget -- should be conducted by the economic cabinet team of
the current government -- which is in contravention with the
government's expectation.
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Dorodjatun
Kuntjoro-Jakti said on Monday that among the priorities to be
done by the current government, whose mandate is to end before
year-end, was to formulate the 2005 state budget bill.
He noted however that the deliberation process would be done
by the next government.
"That will be our last budget proposal. It is the task of the
next government to deliberate the bill into a law," Dorodjatun
said.
Poltak on the other hand, disagreed with such a plan. Aside
from busy schedule of campaigns, he cited as another reason
technical difficulties for the newly assembled economic team of
the next government to immediately take part in the bill's
deliberation process.
It remains to be seen how the House and the government will
bridge the difference. Analysts warn, however, if the budget is
not approved this year, there would be disruption in the fiscal
management in the first months of the year.
A late approval of the bill will render difficulties for
regional governments to draw up their budget on time as they use
the state budget as reference in making their own.