'Sutiyoso's accountability speech feeble'

Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

City councillors viewed Governor Sutiyoso's accountability speech for the 2001 City Budget, which was delivered on Thursday, to be weak and an attempt to hide his failures.

As predicted, Sutiyoso neglected to mention his administration's failure to prevent the massive floods which hit the city recently, or the garbage management issue.

Speaking after the council's plenary session, many of the councillors said they would likely reject the speech while others said they preferred to discuss it amongst their party factions before deciding on an official stance.

"I personally will recommend that my faction reject the speech," Councillor Dani Anwar of the Justice Party (PK) said.

Dani accused Sutiyoso of violating a regulation which bans him from becoming the president commissioner of city-owned market operator PD Pasar Jaya.

He said Sutiyoso claimed in his speech that he and the deputy governors relinquished their posts from city-owned firms last year.

"I know that, as of the end of 2001, he was still the (PD Pasar Jaya) president commissioner," said Dani.

The National Mandate Party (PAN) also expressed their inclination to reject Sutiyoso's speech based on his failures on several fronts, especially garbage management.

PAN's faction chairman M. Nadjamudin also asserted that Sutiyoso's administration was especially weak with regard to public order and public service.

Bekasi closed the 104-hectare Bantar Gebang dump, located in three villages of the municipality, last December and reopened it a week after a series of negotiations.

The council's largest faction, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) admitted to being disappointed.

"Sutiyoso only discussed the 'sweet things'. There are many problems in the capital but he has failed to explain them," the faction's secretary M. Nakum AR said.

The United Development Party (PPP) councillor Syarief Zulkarnaen said Sutiyoso's claim that the city-owned firms' contribution had improved was untrue.

"The firms only contributed 0.37 percent to the city's revenue. They are still in a poor state," he said.

Only the Golkar Party faction declared the governor's speech adequate.

"It's good enough, although he still needs to give more details," Golkar faction chairman Ade Surapriatna said.

The council's 11 factions -- comprised of 85 councillors, 30 from PDI Perjuangan, 13 from PPP, 13 from PAN, eight from Golkar, four from PK and the remaining seven from other parties -- will each give the accountability speech a thumbs up or a thumbs down on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, outside the building on Jl. Kebon Sirih, hundreds of Sutiyoso's supporters called the Betawi Brotherhood Forum (FBR), reacted with violence when they arrived and mistook the Jakarta People's Alliance (AMJ), who were already on-site in support of the governor, for being anti-Sutiyoso.

Two members of AMJ were injured in the senseless melee.

AMJ's coordinator, Syarief, claimed that the incident was merely a misunderstanding as neither side was apparently aware that they were supposed to be in support of Sutiyoso.

Highlights of Sutiyoso's accountability speech of 2001 Budget:

* The economic growth was 3.64 percent, lower than 2000's figure (3.98 percent) because of political and security conditions.

* The Gross Regional Domestic Product per capita increased from Rp 22.43 million in 2000 to Rp 25.87 million in 2001.

* The inflation rate in 2001 reached 11.52 percent, higher than 2000 (10.29 percent).

* Public order operations were conducted with the help of the police and civil guards, targeting street vendors, people with social and community problems (including beggars, homeless people, prostitutes and street children), in addition to pedicab (becak) drivers and squatters.

These operations often sparked protests, and the victims complained to the National Commission of Human Rights, the House of Representatives, the City Council, the City Governor, and even the Central Jakarta District Court.

The court declared that the administration had unlawfully conducted the operations because they were held without proper procedures.

* There was a significant revenue increase in the 2001 budget (which used the balanced system, meaning revenue was the same as expenditures), which was Rp 9.09 trillion. The 1999/2000 budget was Rp 4.17 trillion.

* Cutting the bureaucracy for the processing of the application of both local and foreign investors, and developing small businesses.

* In 2001, the City Inspectorate (now called the City Audit Agency) received 283 complaints, including 87 KKN (corruption, collusion and nepotism) cases. Fifty-nine KKN cases were proven in court, causing the city Rp 1.5 billion in losses.

A total of 91 employees received administrative sanctions.

What Sutiyoso failed to mention, however, was the fact that not one of them was ever prosecuted.

* Two bylaws were passed to support the implementation of regional autonomy: Bylaw No. 3/2001 on Organization and Working System of the City Administration; and Bylaw No. 8/2001 on Basic Principles of Regional Finance Management.

* The subdistrict Community Empowerment Program was launched in 2001 in 25 subdistricts - each of the subdistricts received Rp 2 billion.

Sutiyoso admitted that it did not run well because the subdistricts failed to organize the community, but added it was understandable, because the program was new.

* The year 2001 saw an improvement in public service, compared with 2000, even though there were still many complaints from people about the lack of transparency, bureaucracy, and illegal levies.

The public service included the process of the building license applications and ID card applications; as well as health service, and funeral service.

The health service sector has improved, as seen in the life expectancy that increased from 71.35 in 2000 to 71.9 in 2001; infant mortality rates, meantime, decreased from 28 to 26 per 1,000 births. Maternal mortality rates remained steady at 2 per 1,000 births, the same as the rate in 2000.

* The 35 city firms contributed Rp 34.99 billion, while the target was Rp 35.78 billion. Eight of them could not reach the target, while three failed to contribute anything.

* The city constructed 37 new parks, planted 3.5 million trees and renovated the Monas park along with other projects beautifying the city.

But in the long term, Sutiyoso acknowledged, it would take a decade or two to turn Jakarta into a green city.