Water meter registration

JAKARTA (JP): A councilor has questioned a decision made by the city-owned water company, PAM Jaya, to hand over the water meter registration contract to a private company without a tender process.

Saud Rachman, a member of the City Council's Commission D, in charge of development affairs, told reporters on Saturday that the decision to give the contract to PT Belmanda Lestari has to be clarified because the job is not complicated and any one can do it.

"Why didn't the company open a tender before granting the contract?" Saud asked.

He said it would be fair and objective if the project is given to a company that wins in the tender. He also questioned the decision to hand over the job to the private company because the meter registering is the duty of the water company.

"Registering the water meter is the daily job of PAM employees, why should it be transferred to a private firm?," he asked again, adding that the cooperation is only wasting PAM's funds.

"It will be cheaper if PAM conducts the job itself because the water company will lose Rp 3 billion (US$1.36 million) per year which it collects from its customers at Rp 850 each per month," he said. (yns)