SEAG consortium suffers Rp 68b budget deficit
SEAG consortium suffers Rp 68b budget deficit
JAKARTA (JP): The 19th SEA Games Consortium, the fund-raising
body for the biennial event held in Jakarta last year, has
suffered a Rp 68.1 billion (US$9.08 million) loss.
Executive Director Bambang Yoga Soegama told a news conference
yesterday that the consortium had earned Rp 87.9 billion and
spent Rp 156 billion.
"The consortium has promised to take full responsibility for
financing the event. We don't want to ask for the government to
pay the deficit for us. We took the risk," Soegama said.
The consortium, chaired by President Soeharto's son Bambang
Trihatmodjo, raised a large part of the funds through the sale of
stickers to the users of public utilities, airplane passengers
and car owners renewing driving licenses or extending vehicle
registration documents.
Of the Rp 87.9 billion raised, Rp 36 billion came from
sponsors, Rp 41.6 billion from sticker sales and Rp 10.3 billion
from other sources.
Fund raising may have been hampered by poor distribution of
the stickers. Although the Ministry of Social Services granted
permission to the consortium to release 17,750,000 stickers, only
four million were distributed, 500,000 of which were valued at Rp
5,000, 1.5 million valued at Rp 2,500 and two million valued Rp
1,000 each.
The stickers were given to the Ministry of Transportation,
which sold 500,000, the Ministry of Tourism, Post and
Telecommunication, which sold 2.1 million, and the state-owned
electricity company PLN, which sold 100,000. The 1.3 million
unsold stickers were returned to the consortium and incinerated,
Soegama said.
Fund raising officially ended on Dec. 31, 1997, however the
consortium has yet to receive money raised by 21 provincial
revenue agencies.
Only agencies in West Kalimantan (Rp 20.4 million), Jakarta
(Rp 2.14 billion), Bali (Rp 27 million) and Yogyakarta (Rp 12.5
million) have submitted funds raised. The provinces of Irian Jaya
and East Timor were not included in the sticker selling scheme.
The consortium still owes Rp 23 billion to Bank Alfa (formerly
Bank Andromeda) and Bank Artha Graha and Rp 39.8 billion to
Bambang Trihatmodjo.
Suspicion
Addressing public suspicion of the deficit, the fund and
business deputy, Enggartiasto Lukita, said that the consortium
only received reports on money raised by the ministries,
companies and agencies and had no authority to make checks.
"We can only confirm the amount they transfer and the amount
we receive. We don't have any right to question or check them. We
can't even ask them to give us details", Enggartiasto said.
Soegama added there was no suspicion that the ministries,
companies and agencies had misused the money. We just haven't
received confirmations from some of them."
State Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Hayono Isman,
urged the consortium Wednesday to give transparent reports to the
public. He also said the government could sue the consortium if
it is proved to have misused the sticker sales fund.
"If the minister wants to double check the consortium, we
don't mind at all. He has the right to do so," Soegama said.
(yan)