Although increasing the risk of corruption, emergency steps to allow direct disbursement of funds for the Southeast Asian Games is a wise option, experts said on Friday.
“Although we have strict regulations on procurement, in special cases like this it will be impossible to comply with the law,” Zainal Arifin Muchtar, the director of Gajahmada University’s Anti Corruption Study Center (Pukat UGM), said of the rush to prepare for the Games.
In a meeting between the Games organizing committee (Inasoc) and the government, officials agreed to speed up disbursement of the budget and give Inasoc more authority over funds.
A presidential regulation was necessary to cut through the bureaucracy without breaking any laws, though.
Zainal said the special situation required the government to disburse funds immediately for the Games, due to begin in just two months.
“It is not that unusual, actually, just like Aceh’s post-tsunami reconstruction period. When an open auction would take too much time, a direct appointment makes more sense,” he said.
He said a presidential decree would be sufficient to ensure the officials involved in the process would not be troubled later.
Ronald Rofiandri, a director at the non-governmental Center for Indonesian Law and Policy Studies (PSHK), said direct appointment in procurement was risky.
“There will always be the potential for graft, but this is necessary as an emergency solution” he said.
The 1999 law on procurement states that any government project with a budget larger than Rp 200 million ($23,000) must be administered through an open auction. Earlier this month, however, Inasoc officials said they would quit on Sept. 15 if the government did not provide the Rp 700 billion in funding it had promised.
“As long as the presidential decree is specific enough, officials involved in the project should not be worried they will be troubled later,” he said.
Ronald said any direct disbursement required tight supervision to prevent graft.
“The government must involve both the Corruption Eradication Commission [KPK] and the Supreme Audit Agency [BPK] to supervise the project,” he said.
Minister of Youth and Sports Andi Mallarangeng said his office would watch Inasoc closely by forming a supervising team consisting of officials from the Goods and Services Procurement Policy Institution (LKPP), the State Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP), and the Attorney General’s Office.
However activists said that the Corruption Eradication Commission should also be included in the process.
The KPK had earlier detected indications of corruption after scrutinizing a direct appointment scheme for the reconstruction of Nias Island in North Sumatra, which was ravaged by a 2005 earthquake.
Former Nias district chief Binahati Benekditus Baeha is serving a five-year jail term for embezzling Rp 3.3 billion earmarked for disaster relief.
The relief funds were channeled to several companies through a direct-appointment scheme, but some funds were funneled back to the district head’s bank account.
“Although we have strict regulations on procurement, in special cases like this it will be impossible to comply with the law,” Zainal Arifin Muchtar, the director of Gajahmada University’s Anti Corruption Study Center (Pukat UGM), said of the rush to prepare for the Games.
In a meeting between the Games organizing committee (Inasoc) and the government, officials agreed to speed up disbursement of the budget and give Inasoc more authority over funds.
A presidential regulation was necessary to cut through the bureaucracy without breaking any laws, though.
Zainal said the special situation required the government to disburse funds immediately for the Games, due to begin in just two months.
“It is not that unusual, actually, just like Aceh’s post-tsunami reconstruction period. When an open auction would take too much time, a direct appointment makes more sense,” he said.
He said a presidential decree would be sufficient to ensure the officials involved in the process would not be troubled later.
Ronald Rofiandri, a director at the non-governmental Center for Indonesian Law and Policy Studies (PSHK), said direct appointment in procurement was risky.
“There will always be the potential for graft, but this is necessary as an emergency solution” he said.
The 1999 law on procurement states that any government project with a budget larger than Rp 200 million ($23,000) must be administered through an open auction. Earlier this month, however, Inasoc officials said they would quit on Sept. 15 if the government did not provide the Rp 700 billion in funding it had promised.
“As long as the presidential decree is specific enough, officials involved in the project should not be worried they will be troubled later,” he said.
Ronald said any direct disbursement required tight supervision to prevent graft.
“The government must involve both the Corruption Eradication Commission [KPK] and the Supreme Audit Agency [BPK] to supervise the project,” he said.
Minister of Youth and Sports Andi Mallarangeng said his office would watch Inasoc closely by forming a supervising team consisting of officials from the Goods and Services Procurement Policy Institution (LKPP), the State Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP), and the Attorney General’s Office.
However activists said that the Corruption Eradication Commission should also be included in the process.
The KPK had earlier detected indications of corruption after scrutinizing a direct appointment scheme for the reconstruction of Nias Island in North Sumatra, which was ravaged by a 2005 earthquake.
Former Nias district chief Binahati Benekditus Baeha is serving a five-year jail term for embezzling Rp 3.3 billion earmarked for disaster relief.
The relief funds were channeled to several companies through a direct-appointment scheme, but some funds were funneled back to the district head’s bank account.
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