Transpoda Requests KPK to Oversee the Credit Channeling of Rp 219 Billion in Kukar

Transpoda Requests KPK to Oversee the Credit Channeling of Rp 219 Billion in Kukar
Jakarta, Pelita

Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Transparansi Otonomi Daerah (Transpoda) requested the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to oversee the credit channeling worth of Rp 219.000.000.000 by the Regional Development Banks (BPD) of East Kalimantan (Kaltim) to a company PT AUS. They worry that the credit will become a problem in the future.

There was an allegation that the credit funds were not used for the development and management of oil palm plantations belongs to the people. This allegation comes after seeing a very slow process of plantation development, said spokesman of Transpoda, Ahmad Dede Kurnia in Jakarta, Sunday (10/1).

Dede Kurnia said that legally, the party applying for a loan was indeed a community cooperative as plasma farmer. However, the corporate guarantor was PT AUS. The fact was that PT AUS also manages and uses the credit funds. Therefore, it can be said that the substantial creditor is PT AUS.
BPD Kaltim disburse the credit worth around Rp 219 billion which is realized in July 2009 for the purposes of development and management of community’s oil palm plasma plantations in the area of 1200 hectares in Kutai Kartanegara.

The planting of commercial seeds in the field was conducted in December 2008. Until the end of December 2008, 101,250 seeds or 750 Ha has been planted. The seeds planting were targeted to be finished in August 2009; however it is known that until know it has not been finished.

He said that almost all plantation development schedule starting from land clearing, construction of roads, construction of drainage until seeding time deviated from the limit that have previously set.

If in the end the people's plantation development fails then most likely the loans of PT AUS will be bad and that means financial losses have led to the state.

In addition, if the people’s plantation development by PT AUS fails then it will surely cause the loss for the local people as the owners and possibly also as oil palm plantation workers.

Moreover, Dede Kurnia continued, the physical guarantee of that loan is the plantation areas that are currently being developed. If in the future the credit turns into bad and the bank conduct the foreclosures, the people own of the land will suffer from two great losses.

The first loss, he said, is that they loss their income and livelihood because plantation development has failed, while the second loss arising from people's land that was eventually confiscated by the bank for a loan guarantee.

Therefore, KPK must carefully act by investigating every detail of activities conducted by PT AUS in relation to the plantation development. It should be avoided that these funds is lost and never return to the state because of the failure of plantation development, he said.

Responding to this issue, the Chairman of Commission II DPRD Kutai Kartanegara as the commission in charge of regional development issues, M Solahuddin said that his office would conduct an investigation to prove the truth of the matter.

Solahuddin revealed that his office had actually heard that problem a long time. However, officially, no one report this matter.

It is necessary to conduct investigation again, and we're going to call the PT AUS and BPD Kaltim as soon as possible. It must be avoided that a good program from the government turn into failure, he said. (AY)