Ministry questioned over extra payments

Lawmakers questioned the Public Works Ministry on Thursday about a Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) report that the ministry made extra payments of about Rp 3.7 billion (US$432,900) to several companies.

The BPK has given the ministry a qualified opinion for its 2010 financial report, citing the extra payments as among the reasons.

The ministry paid approximately Rp 1.96 billion extra for the Palu-Pantoloan road construction project in Sulawesi, and about Rp 1.71 billion extra to 25 consultation firms, according to the BPK.

It also paid millions of extra rupiah to three other companies it partnered with.

Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto stopped short of explaining how and why the extra payments were made, but said the ministry was trying to recover the funds and had reprimanded the officials who were responsible for the payments.

Lawmakers also questioned the official trips worth about Rp 2 billion made by ministry officials throughout 2010 and the lack of documentation for a number of land and machinery assets owned by the ministry, among other things.

"The inspectorate general will investigate the trip reports and the actual spending," Djoko said of the official trips during a working meeting with House of Representatives Commission V overseeing infrastructure and transportation.

As for the lack of ownership documents for the ministry's assets, he said his office was coordinating with the Finance Ministry and the National Land Agency to solve the issue.