Probe into alleged corruption urged
Probe into alleged corruption urged
JAKARTA (JP): A member of the city council wants the city administration to investigate alleged corruption by the equipment bureau at the City Hall.
The secretary of the council's Commission C for financial affairs, Amarullah Asbah, said yesterday that the council has very limited power to probe any irregularities in budget spending committed by the executives. "The city inspector should find out if the report is true and then the inspector should investigate the case," he added.
The city equipment bureau has allegedly favored PT S., a garment factory, to win a tender for providing the uniform for City Hall employees, although it offered prices as high as those offered by other bidders.
The disgruntled bidders have written letters saying that the appointment of PT S as the supplier of the uniform is surprising as its products is more expensive than those sold at a store in luxurious Pondok Indah Mall.
The letters have been leaked to reporters before being sent to the administration.
Many city employees have complained about the inferior material used for the uniform.
"I have bought new uniforms with my own money," Sutiyono, an employee, said.
The administration allocates Rp 3.4 billion in this fiscal year to buy a total of 385,000 meters of cloth for the uniforms of 76,000 employees. Each employee will get two uniforms, meaning that the price of the cloth is around Rp 8,000 per meter.
Those who are disappointed with the quality of the new uniform speculated that the equipment bureau has illegally collected more than Rp 1.5 billion from the project.
However, the employees said that the material must be below Rp 8,000 per meter in the market.
The city secretary's assistant for administrative affairs, Fauzie Alvi Yasin, said he had not heard of the allegations.
What he knew, he said, was that the project must be carried out by a garment factory, and the standard quality for the material has also been set by the administration. (yns)