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BPK wants greater independence, calls for law amendment
BPK deputy chairman Agus Djoko Pramono said on Tuesday the key provision that needed amending in the current law was one that would allow the agency to get direct access to funding from the state budget.
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A small number of lawmakers physically attend the plenary meeting on the endorsement for the 2019 state budget implementation bill (P2APBN) in the House of Representatives complex in Senayan, Central Jakarta, while others join the meeting virtually on Sept. 15, 2020. (Antara/Puspa Perwitasari)
T
he Supreme Audit Body (BPK) has called for the amendment of Law No. 15/2006, a proposal that the agency's leadership deemed crucial to improve its independence and impartiality.
BPK deputy chairman Agus Djoko Pramono said on Tuesday the key provision that needed amending in the current law was one that would allow the agency to get direct access to funding from the state budget.
"We have seen examples in Europe, in countries like Poland, where the audit bodies get their funding from the state budget and this has allowed them to be independent of any outside interference," Agus told a media briefing.
Agus said that the amendment to the law had been included in the House of Representatives' list of priority bills for 2021.
"We're hoping that the deliberation process for the amendment could start soon," Agus said.
Under the current law, the Finance Ministry controls the budget disbursement for the BPK, an arrangement that critics say could compromise the agency's independent operation.
The last time the BPK made headlines was in 2021 when the agency warned the government of a potential decline in its ability to service its increasing debt after the government hiked state spending in 2020 to finance economic stimulus measures as part of the national pandemic response.
BPK chairman Agung Firman Sampurna said that interest payments on national debt relative to government revenue stood at 19.06 percent last year, much higher than the 7 to 10 percent recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
