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Ahok puts in overtime to finalize draft budget
Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama
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Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama. (tribunnews.com/Adi Suhendi)
Jakarta Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama is working overtime on Saturday and Sunday to scrutinize allocations to certain working units under the city administration before the allocations are compiled into the 2016 draft budget, which is set to be approved on Monday.
Visitors to City Hall on Saturday were told they could not enter the leadership meeting hall at City Hall, which is usually open to visitors on weekends.
'The leadership meeting hall is being used by the governor today, so it's closed,' said Diah, the officer on duty, as reported by kompas.com.
In the last three days, Ahok has been examining allocations to agencies including the Jakarta Culture and Tourism Agency, Education Agency and Parks and Cemeteries Agency. Ahok led the meetings from 9 a.m. to midnight, working to ensure the document is ready to be approved on Monday.
The draft budget being scrutinized by the governor was jointly prepared by members of the city administration budgetary team and representatives of the City Council. The governor has delved into the detail of each allocation, scrapping or reducing allocations he considers unjustified.
In the budget allocation for the education agency for example, he found Rp 12 million (US$ 876.59) allocated to a scanner operator for four days' work and Rp 57 million to a programmer, also for four days' work. An agency official has admitted the allocations were a mistake.
Previously, Ahok also criticized officials from the tourism and culture agency, which he said was spending too much money organizing festivals. He subsequently cut the agency's budget allocation significantly, from Rp 1.2 trillion in 2014 to Rp 300 billion this year and even less next year.
City Council member Tandanan Daulay criticized the way Governor Ahok had revised the draft city budget, which had already been discussed with the council.
Tandanan, a member of the Golkar Party, said that any changes in the draft budget that already agreed by representatives of the city administration and the City Council should be agreed by both parties.
He particularly criticized the drastic reduction of the budget of the Jakarta Culture and Tourism Agency, which he said violated a regulation set by the Home Ministry. 'The draft budget may not be revised without City Council's approval. The mechanism is wrong,' Tandanan said. (bbn)
