DKI Abolishes Budget Normalization But Willing To Debt For Formula E, Deputy Governor: It's A Joint Decision

Jakarta Deputy Governor Ahmad Riza Patria (Photo: ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Deputy Governor of DKI Jakarta, Ahmad Riza Patria, responded to the issue of the abolition of the river normalization budget in 2019, and in the same year, DKI also owed banks to finance Formula E.

Riza said, regarding the abolition of the IDR 160 billion river normalization budget in the 2019 APBD, it was a joint decision between the executive and the legislature.

"All these programs are discussed together with Regional House of Representatives members. So, if it has been decided together, it has become a joint decision that is discussed and takes into account all aspects, including the legal aspect", said Riza at DKI City Hall, Monday, November 8.

Meanwhile, related to the DKI Provincial Government's debt to Bank DKI amounting to IDR 180 billion to finance Formula E two years ago, Riza admitted that he only knew about this.

"I just heard about it. Later I will check whether the Provincial Government has borrowed from Bank DKI. What is certain is that all the money from the DKI Regional Government is for all purposes, it's in Bank DKI", he said.

Previously, there was a power of attorney circulating from the Governor of DKI Jakarta Anies Baswedan to the Head of the Jakarta Youth and Sports Agency to apply for a regional loan to the bank to organize Formula E. The power of attorney was signed on August 21, 2019.

The day after the power of attorney was issued, Jakarta Youth and Sports Agency submitted a debt to Bank DKI for 10 million pounds or IDR 180 billion to pay the first term commitment fee.

Deputy Chairperson of Commission E of the DKI Regional House of Representatives from the PSI faction, Anggara Wicitra Sastroamidjojo, admitted that he was surprised that the debt that Anies had proposed was only for the sake of the Formula E event.

"This is the first time that a governor has defended his debt to hold a car race, not for urgent matters such as paying employee salaries or dealing with floods", said Anggara.

The irony, said Anggara, was that in the same year, Anies canceled the IDR 160 billion river normalization land acquisition budget on the grounds of a budget deficit.

Actually, at the end of 2019, Anggara said that the DKI Water Resources Service was ready to pay for land acquisition for 118 plots of land on the banks of the Ciliwung River for IDR 160 billion.

The payment is just waiting for the Governor's Decision (Kepgub) regarding the determination of the location to be released. However, the land acquisition was eventually canceled entirely on the pretext of a budget deficit.

"This shows that Governor Anies is more concerned with car racing events than dealing with floods", said Anggara.