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Transparency declining in Jakarta: Audit regency
The accountability and transparency of city administrations across the country, including the Jakarta administration, have decreased in the past four years, the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) reported Wednesday
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The accountability and transparency of city administrations across the country, including the Jakarta administration, have decreased in the past four years, the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) reported Wednesday.
BPK head Anwar Nasution said the decrease was indicated by the proportion of errors and irregularities in more than 250 of the financial reports submitted during 2004-2007.
In its audit, the BPK employs the terms "unreasonable", "disclaimer", "reasonable with exceptions" (WDP) and "reasonable without exceptions" (WTP). The worst level of accountability is "unreasonable" and the best is WTP.
The BPK recorded that the number of financial reports that earned a WTP rating fell from 7 percent in 2004 to 5 percent in 2005. It continued to fall, sitting at 1 percent in both 2006 and 2007.
Most reports during the four-year period earned a WDP rating, with a total of 173 WDP reports in 2007.
"In the meantime, financial reports with the 'disclaimer' rating jumped from 2 percent in 2004 to 17 percent in 2007. Financial reports with the 'unreasonable' rating also increased from 3 percent in 2004 to 19 percent in 2007," Anwar said at City Hall during a one-day public dialogue about the city administration's accountability and transparency.
"We declared the Jakarta administration to now be in the 'disclaimer' category after finding numerous irregularities in the city's bookkeeping.
"The city should immediately improve its system because it is considered poorer than other capitals in the region, such as Kuala Lumpur and Singapore," he said.
In June the BPK issued a "disclaimer" rating for the city's 2007 financial reports.
The BPK said the audit resulted in the discovery of irregularities totaling Rp 5.6 trillion (US$594 million).
Anwar said the BPK had suggested some initiatives to help lift the rating.
He said the administration should improve its systems, including its bookkeeping, computer applications, assets and debts inventory, financial reports submission schedule, financial reports quality assurance systems and human resources.
He also recommended it work with local universities and the State Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP) in developing and applying a better financial system.
"The city council also should set up a public accountability committee to improve its financial reports," he said.
Governor Fauzi Bowo said that in response to the BPK audit results he had signed about 100 notification letters to institutions that did not work effectively.
He said the administration had cooperated with the BPKP to improve the financial reporting system.
"We have also worked with the Corruption Eradication Commission to give some sessions on how to prevent corruption in the institution," Fauzi said.
Meanwhile, head of the BPK's Jakarta office, I Gde Kastawa, said two city working units -- the social welfare assistance bureau and the legal bureau -- were still undergoing investigation by the BPK for alleged corruption in 2007.
"We are still completing the reports on the social welfare assistance bureau case, while we are still investigating the legal bureau because there's an indication that there was a similar case in 2006," Kastawa said.
