Sutiyoso denies misuse of funds

Governor Sutiyoso denied allegation that the Jakarta administration has misused Rp 1 billion (US$98,040) in sanitation funds to manage garbage collection after the recent floods.

"I assure you that the fund has been used appropriately," he was quoted by Antara on Sunday.

According to Sutiyoso, the money was used to rent dump trucks by the Jakarta Sanitation Agency to transport garbage to the Bantar Gebang dump in Bekasi. The amount of uncollected garbage doubled due to the floods. The city produces some 25,000 cubic meter of garbage daily.

Despite his approval for the agency to rent the trucks, Sutiyoso agreed that the sanitation fund be audited.

"I'm allergic to allegations (on mark-up and corruption). I agree to audit (the fund), why not?" he said.

City councillors of Commission D for development affairs alleged that Rp 1 billion was too much only to transport the garbage.

Mardjuan Bakrie, a councillor of the National Mandate Party, alleged that the administration had jacked up the budget.

Agency deputy chief Rama Boedi explained earlier that the fund was used to pay a rental fee for 83 dump trucks and several excavators to collect and dump the garbage for a period of 10 days.

Rama's explanation differed with the agency's report that it only deployed 56 trucks to deliver garbage in the five municipalities here. -- JP