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West Java budget irregularities
Yuli Tri Suwarni , The Jakarta Post , Bandung | Thu, 07/24/2008 10:40 AM | The Archipelago
The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) has found numerous financial irregularities and inefficiencies in the 2007 budgets of the West Java provincial administration and 24 of its regencies and municipalities.
Head of BPK representative office in Bandung, Gunawan Sidauruk, revealed Monday that BPK detected a total of 156 irregularities resulting in more than Rp 85 billion (US$9.2 million) in state losses.
"This is much higher than the previous year's 124 irregularities which amounted to over Rp 50 billion," said Sidauruk after handing over the audit results to the provincial legislature council through its budget committee chairman, Qudrat Iswara, on Monday.
Sidauruk said that his office also placed a disclaimer for "chaotic budget spending" on seven of the audited budgets of regional administrations, including Garut, Indramayu, Karawang, Subang and Cianjur.
Sidauruk said he was deeply concerned over the increasing irregularities and inefficiencies in the province.
The province's 2006 financial performance was given the status "proper with exception", meaning no serious financial irregularities were found.
"But some irregularities in 2007 need further investigation either by the legislative council or the police," Sidauruk said.
Major irregularities, according to Sidauruk, are found in Garut, where the regent and other officials have been implicated in three corruption cases involving Rp 12.5 billion.
Besides the three cases, Garut (non-active) regent Agus Supriyadi was also implicated in another corruption case amounting to Rp 10.8 billion. The Garut District Court has sentenced him to 7.5 years imprisonment, which is under appeal to the Supreme Court.
Sidauruk said his office also found 29 findings of financial efficiency and effectiveness amounting to Rp 16 billion, but the figure was far below that of the monetary losses.
Responding to the audit result, Qudrat said the findings were a lesson for all.
"It is important to remember we are being watched as we prepare our financial reports," said Qudrat, also a legislator of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
Qudrat said the audit results were important because revisions to the current budget could only be conducted when the BPK finished auditing the 2007 budget.
