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cting Jakarta governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama plans to swear in current Central Jakarta Mayor Saefullah as the new secretary to the city administration, despite several major problems.

He said he would likely inaugurate Saefullah on Monday if the home minister gave his approval for the inauguration on Friday, as the President had already endorsed Saefullah'€™s appointment to the city'€™s third-most strategic position after the roles of governor and vice governor.

'€œI will immediately inaugurate him, right after we receive a letter from the Home Ministry that authorizes me to inaugurate him,'€ he said, adding that he planned to hold the inauguration ceremony on Monday.

The position, the highest for civil servants in the city administration, has been left vacant over the past year following the resignation of Fadjar Panjaitan for his legislative candidacy bid in April.

Ahok was awaiting the announcement from the General Elections Commission (KPU) regarding non-active governor Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo'€™s result in Wednesday'€™s presidential election to pave the way for him to become the city'€™s permanent governor.

He said that in acting as governor, it was necessary to have a secretary to the city administration to oversee several major matters, including the immediate handling of issues at Tanah Abang Market in Central Jakarta.

Ahok said that besides carrying out daily tasks to help the governor and coordinating with all agencies in running the administration, Saefullah would have to settle the problems of street vendors and traffic congestion in the Tanah Abang area.

According to Ahok, an immediate resolution to the chaotic conditions in Tanah Abang and close supervision of the repair of damaged frontage roads along the Sentiong River in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, and in Daan Mogot, West Jakarta, would be the first test case for Saefullah.

He said he had high hopes that Saefullah could relocate street vendors in the Tanah Abang area to the market hall itself, to ensure smooth traffic flow on roads surrounding the market compound because, as the mayor of Central Jakarta, he was supposed to recognize core problems in the market and settle them.

According to Ahok, the new secretary should also be able to regulate the new governance system at the lowest levels of district and subdistrict. '€œIn 2015, the subdistrict and district heads will play their role as property managers. They will be responsible for all matters '€” like sanitation, streets and parks '€” in their territory,'€ he said.

Ahok, the first Chinese-Indonesian to lead Jakarta, added he was planning to replace heads of seven underperforming agencies, saying that the first official he wanted to sack would be Public Works Agency head Manggas Rudy Siahaan.

Asked about which changes he would undertake soon, Ahok said he would set a September deadline for PT Jakarta Monorail to make a detailed design of the monorail project and present their capital, plan the construction of Light Rapid Transit (LRT) as an alternative form of public transportation in the city and increase civil servants'€™ competence to meet the high levels of employees in private companies.

Separately, Saefullah said he could not comment on the new role until his inauguration. '€œIt is too early to comment on the appointment,'€ he said.

He said, however, that he was ready to accomplish all tasks handed to him.

Before becoming Central Jakarta mayor in 2010, 50-year-old Saefullah was Youth and Sports Agency head from 2008 to 2010. He also served as Education Agency deputy head for primary education in 2008.

According to Ahok, Saefullah'€™s performance as an official has been proven on many occasions, including in regulating street vendors in the National Monument (Monas) park in Central Jakarta.

'€œHe also got the highest score in a competence test,'€ Ahok said.

Ahok denied the circulating rumors that Saefullah, who is of Betawi descent, was promoted to the strategic position in order to help secure Ahok'€™s own new potential job as Jakarta governor.

'€œIn fact, it is dangerous appointing him as the city secretary. If I have a clash with him, he will deploy his Betawi gang to attack me,'€ he said.