Jakarta Vice Governor Asks For Auditing of All Financial Reports

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - Jakarta Vice Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok) has asked the State Audit Board (BPK) to verify all financial reports within the Jakarta regional government.

"If possible, I hope the BPK will audit all financial transactions and reports of the regional government of Jakarta. So, it will be able to show what the transactions will look like," Ahok, who is also acting Jakarta governor, said at the City Hall here on Wednesday.

Ahok also appreciated the auditing that had been carried out by the BPK on the Jakarta regional governments financial report.

"I thank the BPK for auditing the reports. It has worked extraordinarily. I hope its next work will become more deepened and comprehensive," Ahok said.

He noted that should the BPK conduct a more expanded and comprehensive auditing, it could disclose the officials who had committed budget misappropriations.

"I believe the auditing and opinion rating provided by the BPK over the financial report is a good start. This could serve as a model for the auditing of the financial reports of other regions," he added.

On Friday last week, the BPK issued a qualified opinion with exception (WDP) rating on the Jakarta regional governments financial report for the 2013 budget year.

The financial report rating experienced a decline when compared with those in the two previous years, which had won unqualified opinion (WTP) ratings.

The BPK has identified 86 irregularities worth around Rp1.54 trillion (US$130.3 million) in programs run by the city administration in 2013.

Consequently, the administration had received a financial rating of "WDP" from the audit board, which is a downgrade from 2012.

BPK member Agung Firman revealed that during a plenary meeting with the City Council, the findings constituted Rp85.36 billion in city losses, Rp1.33 trillion in potential city losses, Rp95.01 billion in shortfalls, and Rp23.13 billion in losses in the value for money audits.

Firman added that the programs had contained irregularities pertaining to a bus procurement project; several Public Works Agency projects; funding and grants for programs such as the Jakarta Smart Card (KJP) and the School Operational Fund (BOP); and electronic budgeting, asset, and document programs.

He said the largest single irregularity involved the bus procurement project, which amounted to Rp118.40 billion.

The project, worth Rp1 trillion, is now being handled by the Attorney Generals Office. So far, four suspects have been named, including former Transportation Agency head Udar Pristono.

"We have also discovered an irregular money disbursement to the Public Works Agency worth Rp104.62 billion. Most of the amount had been transferred to personal bank accounts owned by department heads in district offices; department heads in public works regional offices; and road maintenance department heads at the agency," Firman was quoted by the Jakarta Post as saying.

Regarding the KJP, the childrens and mothers names for 9,006 KJP recipients had been duplicated, triggering losses estimated at Rp8.29 billion, according to the BPK.

In its audit, the BPK employs the terms "unreasonable", "disclaimer", "qualified opinion with exceptions (WDP)," and "unqualified opinion (WTP)." The lowest accountability level is "unreasonable" and the best is "WTP." The administration had received the best rating a year ago.(WDY)