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Ahok protests ministry's sluggish approval of revised city budget
Basuki Tjahaja Purnama
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Basuki Tjahaja Purnama. (Kompas.com/Sri Lestari) (Kompas.com/Sri Lestari)
Basuki Tjahaja Purnama. (Kompas.com/Sri Lestari)
Jakarta Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama has protested the Home Ministry's sluggish process in approving the city's draft revised budget. He said that the ministry had returned the draft revised budget to the Jakarta city administration several times.
'What is behind the sluggishness at the Home Ministry? The ministry is making us jump through hoops,' said the governor angrily on Monday as reported by kompas.com.
Ahok also questioned the negative assessment given to the city's draft budget by the ministry's regional finance directorate general despite the ministry having already approved major parts of the draft budget early this year.
According to Ahok, the city administration has revised down the size of its proposed budget to Rp 65 trillion (US$4.6 billion) from the Rp 69.28 trillion that received approval from the Home Ministry early this year.
Last week, the ministry said that Jakarta had performed poorly in terms of budget spending compared to the rest of the country. According to regional finance directorate general at the Home Ministry Reydonnyzar Moenek, Jakarta, with just 19.39 percent spending, came last in the nation, just behind Papua with 21.74 percent, North Kalimantan with 23.7 percent, West Papua with 28.86 percent and Riau with 29.8 percent.
Meanwhile, Jakarta City Secretary Saefullah admitted that there were still 27 working units within the Jakarta city administration that had not submitted their work plans in need of budget funding.
Saefullah said he set a deadline for the working units at midnight on Tuesday. Among the units that have not submitted their data include the City Communication and Transportation Agency, the City Health Agency, the Communication, Information and Public Relation Agency and a number of sub-districts.
'We will close at midnight and take the draft budget to the Home Ministry again on Wednesday,' Saefullah added. (bbn)(++++)
