WB sets up team to address corruption in RI

JAKARTA (JP): The World Bank has set up two teams of experts consisting of its own staff and independent consultants to clean up corruption in Indonesia, especially that involving the bank's funds.

World Bank country director for Indonesia Dennis de Tray said on Tuesday the teams were scheduled to come here this week and next week to help the Indonesian government shape new strategies to reduce corruption.

"There's no question that the World Bank has made mistakes in the past in its efforts to ensure that the projects were well managed, but we want to set the past behind us and make sure that few mistakes are made in the future," he told reporters.

The first team from Washington, headed by the bank's regional manager of its social development sector unit Katherine Marshall, is already here to start inquiring into the issue of corruption in the country.

Staffed with experts on corruption issues, including Robert Klitgaard, the team is scheduled to meet with various groups here such as promoters of a civil society, corruption watch organizations, and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

"We'd like to have a much better understanding of what's actually happening, how the government is addressing these issues, how they are seen by different parts of Indonesian society," Marshall said here on Tuesday.

She expected the team to be able to define the corruption problems in the country by the end of the week, and be ready to propose subsequent steps to reduce graft over the next six to 12- month period.

"We will be discussing with the government and others what kind of milestones we would expect to see a long way off if it were successful and what kind of specific actions and assistance we might bring," she said.

The issues would likely involve law, ethical standards, and rules and procedures, she said.

The bank is also bringing in its regional manager of central operational service units, Jane Loos, to help improve the management of its portfolio in the country.

The sweeping move to tackle corruption comes a month after the Asian Wall Street Journal published details of a World Bank internal memorandum which disclosed that more than 20 percent of the bank's loans were believed to have been siphoned off by Indonesian officials.

De Tray said on Tuesday the bank regarded the note as presenting a broadly accurate description of problems that existed, but insisted that the specific numbers cited in the memo was merely "anecdotal and indicative".

"If we have had hard evidence to prove corruption in our projects, we have acted upon that evidence," he said, but did not deny that "corruption in Indonesia is endemic, deep-seated and widespread."

At the same meeting Coordinating Minister for Development Supervision and State Administrative Reform Hartarto Sastrosoenarto encouraged all elements in society to help the government root out graft by providing any evidence they had of its existence.

"The government will protect those who come forward to report corruption cases against retribution," he said, adding that it would also protect the rights of those accused.

"In the past, many individuals have hesitated to come forward with accusations because of fear of reprisals and private businesses feared losing government contracts," he added.

But economist Rizal Ramli of the Econit Advisory Group charged that the World Bank's team lacked the necessary independence to investigate corruption.

"It is naive to expect an internal team to investigate corruption cases in a transparent and objective manners," Rizal said on Tuesday.

He reiterated the need to set up an independent team to probe corruption cases and to follow up on them.

Rizal and other economists have reproached the World Bank for failing to publicize the rampant graft practices committed by the country's officials in the spending of its loan funds despite being fully aware of them.

Early this month, the government reviewed and severed many business contracts signed by its agencies and enterprises with the families and associates of former president Soeharto, as part of the campaign to eliminate corruption, collusion and nepotism in the bureaucracy.

State-owned PT Pelabuhan Indonesian announced on Tuesday it had canceled 13 projects and planned to review several others linked to companies headed by Soeharto's family and associates. (das)