Jakarta regional spending decreases Rp 4.5t in 2011

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On Monday, two days before the election, at a plenary meeting with the City Council incumbent Governor Fauzi Bowo reported that the city administration budget in 2011 had a surplus of Rp 6.9 trillion (US$726.31 million).

The surplus came from additional revenue worth Rp 1.45 trillion, mostly from taxes and unspent budget funds.

The regional taxes, as the most significant income for the city, increased 9 percent from Rp 13.96 trillion to Rp 15.22 trillion.

Fauzi said that the taxes that exceeded expectations came from taxes on motor vehicles, vehicle fuel, hotels, restaurants, street lighting and duties on acquiring land and building rights.

“However, the tax income that did not reach the target income were taxes of underground water, entertainment, billboards and parking,” he said.

Fauzi said in his report that the unspent budget reached Rp 4.5 trillion. The expenses came down to Rp 26.42 trillion at the end of 2011 from Rp 30.92 trillion as planned in the beginning of the year.

The remainder of the spending came from all sectors in the regional budget.

Fauzi said that the city spent 94.75 percent of the Rp 9.24 trillion budget allocation for personnel expenditure.

“The decreased expenditure also came from interest savings, grants, social aid, financial aid and contingency expenditures that left about Rp 131.41 billion,” he said.

The administration allocated Rp 20.68 trillion for these expenditures but the realization was Rp 16.80 trillion, or only 81.23 percent.

The realization comprises personnel costs, goods and services expenses and capital expenditures.

The report that was delivered at the session lacks details, especially on the list of allocation purposes; an indication of sectoral targets and measurements, and whether the budget was allocated well or not.

The administration acknowledged that there are shortcomings in scheduling and implementation in the program, which leads to a staggering budget surplus.

Indonesian Budget Center (IBC) researcher Roy Salam said that Fauzi had so far failed to improve his administration’s performance or to implement a proper budget policy.

“How could a city have a surplus of Rp 6 trillion while everyone knows there are many things that need to be solved in the city,” Roy said.

The city’s budget surplus has fluctuated in recent years.

Jakarta recorded a Rp 4.9 trillion budget surplus for its Rp 26.7 trillion budget in 2010, a Rp 3.7 trillion surplus for a Rp 23.96 trillion budget in 2009, and Rp 4.44 trillion surplus for a Rp 20.59 trillion budget in 2008.

The councillors are expected to review the budget report on July 13 session. (cor)