Sports body gets only Rp 2b for Asiad
Sports body gets only Rp 2b for Asiad
JAKARTA (JP): National Sports Council chairman Wismoyo
Arismunandar said the National Development Planning Board only
allocated Rp 2 billion (US$350,880) for the country's 13th Asian
Games from its original budget of Rp 10 billion.
Wismoyo declined to say Friday whether the Rp 2 billion would
be enough for preparations of the Asiad.
The council's secretary-general, Rudolf S. Warouw, said the
budget would only be enough to finance athletes' and officials'
transportation and accommodation during the quadrennial event.
"Asiad organizers have proposed to charge $60 per athlete per
day, but the figure has yet to be decided by Olympic Committee
Asia," he said.
At the 19th SEA Games in October 1997, the organizers only
charged $30 per athlete per day.
Warouw said the council had presented the Asiad budget plan
before planning board chairman Ginandjar Kartasasmita and said
the total budget needed was Rp 15 billion.
"But Pak Ginandjar asked the council to revise the budget plan
because some sports organizations were considered capable of
financing themselves, including swimming, gymnastics and track
and field associations," he said.
Decentralized
Earlier, council vice chairman Arie Sudewo said the diminished
budget could be solved by the willingness of some sports
organizations and provinces to stage decentralized training
programs.
"Jakarta, East Java and Central Java have agreed to stage the
decentralized training of some sports in their provinces. Only
West Java has yet to agree to participate in the program," he
said.
However, Arie would not mention the budget needed to stage
decentralized training, which would be financed by each province,
the council or from the state budget.
Warouw said Asiad organizers had announced the number of
medals at the event.
"There will be 377 golds, 377 silvers and 460 bronzes. The
council will call the 21 sports organizations Monday to discuss
the event," he was quoted by Kompas as saying.
The council announced the 22 events to take place at the Asiad
in Bangkok in December. They are track and field, badminton,
boxing, rowing and canoeing, cycling, equestrian, fencing,
soccer, gymnastics, judo, karate, sepak takraw, shooting,
swimming, tae kwon do, tennis, volleyball, weight lifting,
wrestling, wushu and yachting.
"We must send our athletes, who have attained international
achievements, to compete in the Asiad. But the athletes from the
22 sports can also be dropped if they cannot show better form
during the training program," Warouw said.
Consortium
Separately, 19th SEA Games consortium spokesperson I Gusti Ayu
Sandrini said the consortium would announce its auditing report
next week, which was two weeks later than its plan to announce it
Dec. 31.
Ayu said the postponement was due to some consortium officials
having year-end holidays.
"I hope the public will be patient because we still have to
cross-check the financial audit report," she said.
"We also have to check with the sticker sales about the amount
reported to us," she added.
Ayu said some sponsors had only paid half of what they pledged
to the consortium.
The consortium received Rp 20 billion in pledges from five
major sponsors: Konica, Tiger Beer, Nikon, Aqua and Panasonic.
Ayu said the consortium still owed Rp 15 billion for sports
equipment and athletes' accommodations.
Antara reported that the consortium had to collect Rp 105
billion to stage the Games here last October. The fund-raising
was from sticker sales to the public who paid electricity,
telephone and water bills, and those who flew by airplane. The
deadline of fund-raising was Dec. 31. (yan)