T

he Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has found Rp 2.2 trillion (US$240 million) in potential losses to the state from the embezzlement of special allocation funds for numerous regions, says an official.

KPK deputy chairman for prevention M. Jasin said the potential losses were based on the KPK's preliminary inquiry into data from the Finance Ministry and the National Education Ministry, which he said the antigraft commission would immediately follow up.

"Based on Finance Ministry data, 160 regencies and cities have regularly received special allocation funds totaling Rp 2.2 trillion for school building renovations, but data at the National Education Ministry shows the regencies and municipalities do not have school buildings and classrooms that need repair," he said in a joint press conference with relevant officials from the National Education Ministry. He added that both institutions had also found the disbursement of funds had often been delayed causing many renovation projects and asset inventories to be suspended, a condition that led to local authorities embezzling the funds.

The KPK suggested the National Education Ministry coordinate better with the Finance Ministry to monitor the spending of special allocation funds in all regions.

Finance Ministry's director general for fiscal affairs Mardiasmo, said that when the Finance Ministry proposed the special allocation funds for 2009 the National Education Ministry had used outdated data from 2003.

Previously, Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) also reported the alleged corruption of special allocation funds to the antigraft commission.

It is suspected that potential losses from the mismanagement of the Special Allocation Fund (DAK) throughout Indonesia between 2003-2009 could reach Rp 194 billion because they did not see any improvement in school facilities, despite the increasing allocation of the DAK every year.

Data from 2008 showed there were 467,000 classrooms in serious need of repair in elementary and junior high schools, 15,772 junior high schools had no library and 17,709 junior high schools did not have laboratories.

"We suspect corruption is the root of this problem," said the ICW chief of public service monitoring, Ade Irawan.

He claimed that officials from the central government to the school level had embezzled the special education fund and that corrupt practices began with the National Education Ministry's planning process, which was not supported by valid data of schools' needs.