Greater independence urged for BPK

Greater independence urged for BPK

JAKARTA (JP): In order to provide objective audit reports for
the House of Representatives, the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) must
be given greater independence to carry out its duties, according
to a former government official.

Ghandi, the former chairman of the Development and Finance
Comptroller, said here on Tuesday the draft bill on the role of
the state audit agency should give BPK more freedom in planning
its audits.

"What needs to be audited and what does not need to be audited
should be fully at BPK's discretion," he said.

The government has just completed drafting an amendment on
BPK. The draft amendment has been circulated among concerned
parties in the government, as well as the nongovernment sector,
for their evaluation and input.

After circulating the draft of the new bill on BPK, the
government will submit it to the House of Representative next
fiscal year, which will begin in April.

Ghandi said the government should not place any constraints on
BPK as to what should and should not be audited by the agency. He
added that BPK should also be allowed to set its own schedule for
its audits.

"The agency must not delay the completion of its audit work
merely because its audit results might affect the outcome of the
upcoming presidential election, for example," he said.

It also is important that BPK's budget be separate from the
budget of the government, otherwise BPK will be placed under the
control of the government, he said.

"If the government controls BPK's budget, the government can
effectively place limits on BPK's activities regarding the
agency's audit work."

Commenting on the draft bill on BPK, Ghandi offered a number
of criticisms and suggestions.

There must be a guarantee that the BPK chairman cannot be
dismissed in the middle of his term of office, according to
Ghandi.

"This way, the BPK chairman will be able to carry out his
duties without any pressure or fear of losing his post."

Ghandi said BPK must also report to the House if it uncovered
indications of criminal activity during its audits.

According to the Constitution, BPK must regularly report the
results of its audits to the House, he said.

"It is weird that when BPK finds a possible crime by a party
during its audits the agency does not have to report its finding
to the House, but instead only to the police and the attorney
general."

The draft bill also must clarify what is meant by obstruction
of the audit process, he said.

"If a party being audited asks for more time to prepare data,
can this be considered obstructing the audit process," he asked.

Ghandi said it should be made clear that only if a party being
audited requested an intolerable amount of extra time to prepare
data, could they be considered as obstructing the work of BPK.

Besides the new bill on BPK, the government also has completed
two other draft bills: one on the state budget and one on the
state treasury. (udi)