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)