Plan to buy waste trucks postponed

Plan to buy waste trucks postponed

JAKARTA (JP): City administration said on Wednesday it needed
to delay a plan to purchase trucks for its sanitary agency and
public order office since the funds allocated for the vehicles
were used to pay for 55 sedans and five buses for councillors.

City secretary Fauzi Bowo said the administration had planned
to use the Rp 10.5 billion (US$1.1 million) in funds from the
2001 city budget to buy 15 minibuses and two Opel Blazer vans for
its mayoralties, eight large garbage trucks for the sanitary
agency and 10 pickup trucks for the public order office.

"But we'll have to postpone buying them as we need to cover
the cost of the 55 Hyundai sedans for councillors and five buses
for council," Fauzi said.

He said that the purchase of Hyundai sedans and buses had been
allocated in the revised budget last year, but the purchase could
only be covered in the current budget.

He said since the 2001 budget did not include the purchase of
sedans and buses for city councillors, the payment was proposed
in the revised budget, which is being discussed by council
members.

"The purchase of sedans was in fact a sudden decision, so we
could not allocate the funds last year," Fauzi said. "It's not
true that the purchase was mentioned twice in the budget," he
added.

Separately, councillor Posman Siahaan questioned the
administration's decision to include the purchase of sedans and
buses in the current revised budget.

Posman of the Unity and Justice Party claimed that the
purchase of vehicles had been well-planned and that it was
allocated in last year's revised budget.

"It's not true that we suddenly demanded the sedans and
buses," he said.

Each council member received a Hyundai sedan while the
chairman, deputy chairmen and faction chairmen used official
Toyota Corolla sedans.

The 85 city councillors received Rp 75 million each from the
administration just after they were inaugurated in 1999, and the
money was supposed to be used for the down payment of their
vehicles.

They said the money was used to cover their transportation
costs for more than a year as they received the sedans early this
year.

Almost all councillors across the country and members of the
House of Representatives in the previous term received Rp 75
million each. The money went toward a down payment on a Kijang
van, while installments were made from their monthly salary.(jun)