Observers fear administration is corrupt
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Observers have warned of inefficiency in the second semester of this year's budgetary term because agencies are being encouraged to make up for their meager spending in the first semester.
The chairman of the Indonesian Forum for Budgetary Transparency, Laode Ida, said agency officials might fail to heed proper procedures in the rush to spend their budgets before the end of the budget year.
"With a very limited time, the officials are allowed not to tender their projects, and instead directly appoint partners," Laode told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
He was referring to government regulation No. 18/2000, which allows agencies to appoint companies directly for projects in certain circumstances, including time limitations.
The City Council approved on Monday an increase of Rp 576.942 billion in the budget, which not totals Rp 11.562 trillion (US$1.3 billion). The increase was approved even though agencies spent less than 25 percent of the total budget in the first semester.
Observers warned of the danger of corruption in projects where companies are appointed directly by administration officials.
Laode also bemoaned the fact that the public and non- governmental organizations were not given access to monitor the use of taxpayer money.
He said the only way to monitor the use of taxpayer money was for the city administration to publish a list of projects to be tendered.
"But I am pessimistic officials will give the public access to these projects," he said.
The public was denied access from the start of the whole process, with the budget being deliberated in closed-door meetings between officials and councillors.
Laode said he was disappointed the council refused to receive input from the public in deliberating the budget.
Mohamad Suhud of the International NGO Forum for Indonesian Development also warned of inefficiency as officials rush to spend the money left over from the first semester.
"Agencies might spend large amounts of money because the officials do not want to return money to the city treasury," Suhud said.
He also expressed concern this would spur administration officials to hand out projects without a tender.
"I think that this situation has the potential to be used by officials to engage in KKN," Suhud said, using the acronym for corruption, collusion and nepotism.
In the last budget year, many projects were completed without an open tender, while the tenders for other projects were participated in by companies that did not exist. None of these procedural transgressions earned sanctions.