Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo has refused to accept the blame for approving the Rp 2.5 trillion ($259 billion) budget for the Hambalang sports center project, claiming that he was only following regulations. “So the [former] Youth and Sports Affairs Minister [Agus Martowardojo] was the budget user, he is the one the responsible from the planning, implementation, report and responsibility,” Agus said after he was questioned by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for 10 hours on Tuesday.
Agus claimed that the Hambalang sports center budget increased from Rp 125 billion, set by Adhyaska Dault, the sports minister from 2004-2009, to Rp 2.5 trillion upon the initiative of the Youth and Sports Affairs Ministry, and did not involve his ministry. Agus said the increase came after an agreement between the Youth and Sports Affairs Ministry and the corresponding House of Representatives commission. “This project [budget] had increased into Rp 2.5 trillion in January 2010,” Agus said.
“And the increase had been discussed with the House of Representative Commission X. So I only followed the regulation [by approving it].” Several lawmakers from the House of Representatives Commission X, which oversees education and sports affairs, said that the commission only approved a single-year project for less than Rp 300 million in 2009 for the construction of the Hambalang sports center. They have denied that they agreed to increase the budget.
Democratic Party lawmaker Mahyudin, who was the former head of the Commission X, said that it was not necessary for a multi-year project to get approved by the House of Representatives. “Presidential regulation No. 54 issued in 2010 on Goods and Services Procurement stipulates that multi-year contracts should be proposed by a certain ministry to the Finance Ministry to get approval,” Mahyudin said on Tuesday after questioned by the KPK.
“So, the House of Representatives did not necessarily know it.” Mahyudin confirmed that the Youth and Sports Affairs Ministry did in fact ask to increase the budget for the Hambalang sports center project in Bogor. The lawmaker said House had approved Rp 150 billion after the Sports Ministry first asked for Rp 625 billion. The second time, the ministry requested Rp 500 billion and the House approved Rp 400 billion. And the third time when they requested Rp 521 billion, the House did not approve it.
The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) has predicted that the project irregularities caused Rp 243.66 billion in state losses. The KPK has named Andi and Deddy Kusdinar, a mid-ranking Sports Ministry official, as the only two suspects in the case since it began its investigation back in August 2011.
source : the jakarta globe
source : the jakarta globe
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar