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Governor swears in new officials for six key jobs
In a bid to boost the implementation of city programs in 2015, acting governor Basuki âAhokâ Tjahaja Purnama swore in new officials on Friday for six key positions, including the heads of the Public Works Agency and the Financial Management Board (BPKD)
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n a bid to boost the implementation of city programs in 2015, acting governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama swore in new officials on Friday for six key positions, including the heads of the Public Works Agency and the Financial Management Board (BPKD).
Agus Priyono was inaugurated as the new chief of the Public Works Agency to replace Manggas Rudi Siahaan, while incumbent North Jakarta mayor Heru Budi Hartono was installed as the new chief of the Jakarta Financial Management Body, replacing Endang Widjajanti.
The acting governor had previously expressed his plan to replace Manggas because of his unsatisfactory performance. Recently, Ahok was said to be angry with Manggas for the latter's reluctance to approve several documents, including the payment for a sizeable project carried out by several contractors under the supervision of the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry. The holdup in the documents' approval had contributed to delays in several flood mitigation projects in the city.
Manggas was demoted to the position of a regular staff member.
Endang was replaced because she was held responsible for the slow payment of many infrastructure projects in the city.
Ahok also swore in Muhammad Mawardi, former head of the diplomatic and official travel section at the Gubernatorial and Foreign Affairs Bureau, as the new chief of the bureau.
- Heads of Public Works Agency and Financial Management Agency replaced due to unsatisfactory performance
- New officials asked to design their own programs and set their own targets
I Dewa Gede Sony, former head of the Goods and Services Procurement Agency (ULP), was inaugurated as the new chief of the Goods and Procurement Body (BLP), which was developed from the ULP. Noor Syamsu Hidayat, currently the acting Central Jakarta mayor, was installed as the new head of the One-Stop Integrated Services Agency (BPTSP), while Irfan Amtha, the former City Facility Bureau chief, was appointed as the new BPTSP deputy head.
Ahok said during the inauguration ceremony at City Hall on Friday that the new officials were expected to make good progress in their roles.
'Don't feel that your positions are safe because if your performance is bad, I will demote you so you become a regular employee,' he said.
He also asked all new officials to sign an integrity pact so they would not abuse their power and said they must design monthly programs and targets that would be accountable as they would be publicized regularly.
'If they can not reach the set targets, I will replace them and find other officials,' he said.
Besides inaugurating top officials, Ahok also appointed former Jakarta deputy governor for spatial planning Sarwo Handayani and former Jakarta Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP) head Muhammad Yusuf as members of the Governor's Team for Development Supervision (TGUPP).
'I am seeking assistance from both of the two [officials] because our inspectorate is weak. I still receive many complaints that many of our inspectorate members extort other officials, instead of doing their main task of monitoring the city's development progress,' he said.
After the inauguration ceremony, Agus Priyono said he would continue his predecessor's programs, especially those relating to flood mitigation and damaged roads.
'All flood mitigation programs, like [World Bank-funded dredging project] JEDI and the river revitalization project will go on,' he said.
Regarding the so-called zero-hole program, Agus said he was optimistic that targets could be reached this year. 'We now use a contract system that is performance based,' he said.
He explained that the system would be like a cleaning service in which contractors would maintain roads. 'If we find a pothole on a road, the contractor must immediately patch it.'
Agus said he did not have any specific targets for his agency as the city administration plans to divide it into two new agencies next year.
Meanwhile, Heru said that as the new BPKD head, he would find ways to accelerate the city's budget spending, because spending has so far reached only 28 percent of the city's 2014 budget of Rp 72.9 trillion (US$6.28 billion).
