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City buys 101 new cars for councilors
Dozens of Toyota Corolla Altis cars have been parked in the parking lot of the City Council complex on Jl
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ozens of Toyota Corolla Altis cars have been parked in the parking lot of the City Council complex on Jl. Kebon Sirih, Central Jakarta, for the past few days. These cars are only a few among the 101 cars were purchased by the Jakarta city administration for members of the City Council.
'It is routine spending. Any time the city has new councilors, we buy cars for them,' Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama was quoted by tribunnews.com as saying on Thursday. Ahok stressed that the cars are city assets, which are lent to the councilors.
According to City Council secretary Ahmad Sotar, there are 32 cars parked in the parking lot and the rest of the cars will come soon. According the Toyota official website, each Toyota Corolla Altis car costs Rp 401 million (US$28,254) to Rp 430 million.
Ahok said that initially he would give the councilors a transportation allowance, however, the existing regulations would not allow for such an arrangement. The allowance would have been a much cheaper option because the city would not be expected to pay for the regular maintenance of the vehicles.
'Based on our calculations giving money [to councilors] would be more efficient, but the regulations do not allow it,' he said.
City Finance and Asset Management Agency (BPKAD) head Heru Budi Hartono said that the car purchase was proposed by Ahok in January 2015.
'They are city assets. If the councilors no longer hold their positions, they should return the cars to the city administration,' said Heru as quoted by kompas.com. (bbn)
