Jakarta's 2001 budget approved amid complaints of corruption
Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The City Council accepted on Thursday the 2001 city budget accountability report, which amounted to Rp 9.09 trillion (around US$967 million), and approved it despite complaints from several factions of alleged corruption practices and losses incurred last year.
The council accepted that Rp 4.7 trillion of the budget was used for routine expenditures, Rp 2.2 trillion for development spending and the remaining Rp 2.2 trillion was the budget's surplus.
Only two factions, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) -- the largest in the council -- and the Indonesian Military (TNI)/Police, accepted the budget without any reservations. PDI Perjuangan has 30 seats in the 84-seat council, while armed forces have nine.
The remaining nine factions, however, urged the administration to take further steps to investigate the alleged corruption practices and losses.
Although many had criticized the budget, their criticisms did not significantly affect the City Governor Sutiyoso's accountability speech.
The council's factions, which will state their final stance on the accountability speech on Friday, were predicted to accept the accountability through a vote.
The fierce criticisms were delivered on Thursday by the second largest faction, the National Mandate Party (PAN). The faction, among other items, alleged corruption practices in a 5.6 hectare land acquisition deal involving the former brothel area in Kramat Tunggak, North Jakarta, which caused state losses of Rp 26 billion last year.
The faction, which has 13 seats in the council, also claimed that the acquisition of a 10.9 hectare site for Bantar Gebang in East Jakarta caused a loss of Rp 51.46 billion to the country.
PAN also raised questions about the Rp 76.9 billion belonging to the city-owned developer PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol which was received from state-owned toll road operator PT Jasa Marga as compensation for the development of the Tanjung Priok-Pluit toll road.
The faction also revealed that as many as 4,626 garbage truck tires were never purchased as called for in the budget last year, causing Rp 1.15 billion in losses, as well as severely reducing the efficiency of the city's 800 trash trucks.
"Although not wholeheartedly, our faction would still accept the budget report," the faction's spokeswoman Syamsidar Siregar said in the council's plenary session.
Despite accepting the budget, the third largest United Development Party (PPP) questioned the total losses of Rp 1.6 trillion last year that were incurred from the cooperation between the administration with two foreign partners PT Pam Lyonaisse Jaya, a subsidiary of French Lyonaisse des Aux and PT Thames Pam Jaya, a subsidiary of British Thames Water International, in tap water management.
The PPP faction also questioned the "disappearance" of a Rp 2 billion fund belonging to city-owned developer BPL Sunter which received the fund from private developers as compensation for a "public and social facility".
The tiny Justice Party said it could not even dignify the budget report with an opinion because of the plethora of alleged irregularities.
"We could not give an opinion to the budget or even a disclaimer," the faction's spokesman Mukhayar R.M said.