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ICW calls out 'dubious' Education Agency budget
The Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) says it has found at least 454 irregularities in the 2014 budget for the Jakarta Education Agency, estimating that markups were responsible for Rp 1
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he Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) says it has found at least 454 irregularities in the 2014 budget for the Jakarta Education Agency, estimating that markups were responsible for Rp 1.2 trillion (US$92 million) in state losses.
Last year, the Jakarta administration allocated Rp 5.06 trillion for 1,482 activities at the Education Agency. Of the Rp 5.06 trillion, the ICW highlighted Rp 2.06 trillion appearing suspicious.
Meanwhile, the agency managed to realize just Rp 2.32 trillion of total allocation, and almost Rp 1.2 trillion was irregularly spent.
ICW budget monitoring program manager Firdaus Ilyas said Monday that the allocation for the now-infamous un-interruptible power supply (UPS) packages for state schools, which cost the city about Rp 5.9 billion each, was one of the irregularities identified.
Based on ICW data, the allocation was divided into parts: Rp 1.9 billion for each UPS unit; Rp 3.1 billion for each UPS electrical installation; and Rp 970 million for an iron shelf for each UPS.
'The 39 companies that won the UPS tender were also suspicious,' Firdaus said at the ICW office in Kalibata, South Jakarta.
According to Firdaus, the majority of the tender winners also won procurement projects in other agencies. The 39 companies won a total of 197 projects between 2012 to 2014 worth some Rp 875 billion. Firdaus said the UPS procurement tender also seemed hastily arranged, as it was started on Nov. 7, 2014 and ended on Dec. 1, 2014.
Jakarta Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama has brought to light irregularities in the 2015 draft city budget, which he alleged contained Rp 12.1 trillion in dana siluman, or 'sneaky budget'.
He has also highlighted the problem of dana siluman, which he said had been an enduring blight on good governance. On Feb. 27, Ahok filed a report with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), submitting documents he said was proof of irregularities related to city budgets from 2012 to 2014.
The ICW also found that last year the agency allocated Rp 5.9 billion for scanners and 3D printers, Rp 3.8 billion on a tool for study evaluation and Rp 5.9 billion on iMultimedia Education Connect System.
'The iMultimedia Education Connect System budget allocation covered, among other items, Rp 3.5 billion for i-Connect Physics 6: i-Connect Compatible Physics Interactive Content. We have traced it to the schools and there is no explanation about what it was,' Firdaus said.
Last year in February, Ahok replaced Education Agency head Taufik Yudi Mulyanto with Lasro Marbun, who is now the head of the City Inspectorate.
Last June, Ahok said Lasro had found Rp 2.4 trillion in dubious budget allocations at the agency. After the revelation of the UPS procurement last month, Lasro admitted he'd been outsmarted, as the UPS procurement had been carried out at the Education Agency in each municipality; in last year's case, in West Jakarta and in Central Jakarta.
At Monday's press conference, a researcher from the Indonesia Budget Center, Roy Salam, commented on the council's decision to send its own version of the draft budget to the Home Ministry. Councilors did so after accusing Ahok of sending an illegal version of the bill.
Roy said the move constituted an abuse of authority because councilors could only discuss and pass a city budget proposed by the city administration.
'The councilors have been in the comfort zone for too long. We finally have a governor who wants to stop this kind of practice,' Roy said.
