Sri Mulyani Denies ICW Report on Finance Ministry Procurement Transparency
Jakarta. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati on Monday (26/02) denied accusations in a report by Indonesia Corruption Watch claiming that her ministry is one of several government institutions that did not fully disclose their procurement spending for last year.
ICW released the report on Sunday, stating that the Ministry of Finance failed to fully disclose the procurement of goods and services under the procurement plan information system, known as Sirup. The antigraft watchdog said the ministry only listed Rp 4.9 trillion ($358 million) in procurement spending from total budget of Rp 24 trillion budget last year.
Based on Presidential Regulation No. 54 of 2010, all procurement spending on goods and services must be reported in the general procurement plan and the Services Procurement Policy Institution (LKPP) will take the information from Sirup to be disclosed through its website, money.lkpp.go.id.
"I want to correct a report by ICW that claims the Ministry of Finance is one of the ministries that are not transparent in their procurement spending. This is ironic, [as] I'm currently conducting an LPSE [electronic procurement service] workshop," the minister said.
She made the comment during the workshop presented by the ministry on the government's electronic procurement system, attended by the representatives of 12 ministries and government agencies, as part of efforts to increase the quality of government spending reports with regards to transparency, accountability and efficiency.
According to the Finance Ministry's version, it was allocated a total budget of Rp 27 trillion last year, of which Rp 17 trillion was used for staffing expenses. The remainder was used for the procurement of goods and services, of which Rp 1.1 trillion went towards capital expenditure.
"I will send a team to speak to the ICW, because for us, this is a sensitive matter as it relates to our reputation," the minister said.
The ICW stated in its report that from a total of Rp 994 trillion in government procurement spending last year, Rp 86 trillion was unreported.
Apart from the Finance Ministry, the ICW also highlighted the Ministry of Health, which only disclosed Rp 19.4 trillion of its total Rp 26 trillion in procurement spending. Some ministries, including the Ministry of Education and Culture, Ministry of Public Works and Housing and Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, do not allow public scrutiny of their procurement spending records.
On a regional level meanwhile, the ICW said the Jakarta provincial government had also failed to fully disclose its procurement spending for last year.
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