Prabowo Soenirman (tribunnews.com)

A Jakarta City Council Pansus (special committee) has reported a Jakarta city administration land purchase, for a cancer hospital in West Jakarta, to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) due to an alleged price markup.

Pansus deputy chairman Prabowo Soenirman said on Friday that the committee had reported the case because the Jakarta city administration had shown no good will in following up a recent finding by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) about potential state losses totaling Rp 191 billion (US$13.97 billion).

'€œIt is because what was purchased was not what was promised. The land that was offered was on Jl. Tapa, but what was purchased was land on Jl. Tomang Raya. The location is different,'€ said Prabowo as reported by tribunnews.com from the PKK'€™s office in Jakarta.

The BPK'€™s audit of the city administration'€™s 2014 financial report included a report on the city'€™s Rp 775.7 billion ($55 million) purchase of a 3.7-hectare plot of land for a cancer hospital in West Jakarta. The BPK claimed the price had been inflated and said that the land should have been purchased for the same taxable value of property (NJOP) as the surrounding buildings.

The council Pansus was established to follow up the BPK finding.

Meanwhile, Jakarta Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama questioned the committee'€™s move saying that even the BPK had not finished its auditing work. '€œIs the City Council lacking education or what? Even the BPK has not finished their job. What could the City Council report?'€ said Ahok.

Previously, Ahok denied any wrongdoing and he said that there was no potential loss to the state because his administration had purchased the land below NJOP prices. '€œThe land was bought in accordance with NJOP prices. If I returned the land [to the owner], the city would lose [money],'€ Ahok said, adding that the land procurement had even been approved by the Jakarta City Council early in the deliberation of the 2014 city budget.

Meanwhile, City Council deputy speaker Abraham '€œLulung'€ Lunggana, who accompanied Prabowo to the KPK office, said that the Pansus had also handed over its report to the BPK on Thursday, soon after they had finished drafting it. (bbn)

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