BPK to Audit Fuel Subsidy Cut
8 January 2015 13:40 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) plans to audits the government's performance in cutting fuel subsidies. BPK chairman Harry Azhar Azis told Tempo yesterday that the agency will examine the flow of funds from the subsidy savings of more than Rp100 trillion. The audit result will then be evaluated, to judge whether the fuel subsidy cut was the right policy or not.
On Tuesday, the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) announced its review over President Joko Widodo's policy to cut the Premium gasoline and 12-kg LPG subsidies. According to the ICW, leaving the prices of Premium and the 12-kg LPG to the market price has the potential of violation against the constitution.
"This will also negate the process of monitoring and accountability of the sectors that dominate the lives of many people," said Firdaus Ilyas, ICW coordinator for budget monitoring and analysis.
According to ICW's calculations, there are indications of fuel and LPG price mark-ups as the current sell prices are not the same as the market prices. The markup potential per January 2015, ICW says, reaches Rp1.44 trillion for Premium, Rp909.9 billion for Solar diesel, and Rp128.8 billion for LPG.
ICW said the economical price of Premium stands at Rp7,013.67 per liter, or Rp583.33 per liter higher than the current price of Rp7,600 per liter. Meanwhile, the economic price of Solar diesel fuel is Rp6607.53 per liter, which means that the subsidy borne by the state is actually Rp303.18 per liter, not Rp1,000 per liter as the government claims.
To Tempo, Pertamina commercial and marketing director Ahmad Bambang said there is a difference between the government and ICS's subsidized gasoline price calculation. The reason is because both parties use a different reference price based on the Mid Oil Platts of Singapore (MOPS).
Bambang said the government uses the average MOPS per November 25 until December 24 2014 for the January 2015 price of US$77.8 per liter. "The ICW used the MOPS reference for today (Wednesday)," he said yesterday.
MARTHA THERTINA | JAYADI SUPRIADIN | AYU PRIMA SANDI
