Agus Triyono & Bayu Marhaenjati – An antigraft group, the Indonesia Budget Center, has highlighted a recent surge in the value of grants issued by the Jakarta administration, which it says could benefit Governor Fauzi Bowo as he seeks another five-year term in office in the gubernatorial election on July 11.

The IBC said that in 2008, Jakarta earmarked Rp 367 billion ($39.6 million) for grants to social and charity organizations, but the figure rose to Rp 434 billion in 2010. This year, the IBC said, that figure more than tripled to Rp 1.3 trillion.

IBC researcher Roy Salam said the increase appeared to be more politically motivated than based on actual need, adding that the watchdog suspected Fauzi, who has the power to determine how the budget is used, could be using the fund to win votes by channeling them to certain charities.

"This [grant] fund is determined by the heads of the respective regions and the use is never detailed in [the region's annual accounting report]," Roy said. "How this fund is used is at the discretion of the regional heads and could easily be exploited to the advantage of incumbents [seeking re-election]."

Ma'amun Amin, the chairman of Fauzi's campaign team, denied the funds were being used to buy votes. "The funds are managed by the Jakarta administration. We don't interfere with that kind of thing," he said.

Roy said such schemes had often been used in other regions, including in the 2011 gubernatorial election in Banten. "According to an investigation [by other groups], there were irregularities in the use of the [Banten] grant funds. The same could happen in Jakarta," he said.

In 2011, the Banten administration earmarked nearly Rp 400 billion in social aid funds, according to Indonesia Corruption Watch and the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra).

The groups noted that in 2008, Banten Governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah spent Rp 105 billion in grants, Rp 100 billion in 2009 and Rp 101 billion in 2011. Atut was re-elected in a landslide victory last year.

Komari, a spokesman for the Banten administration, previously confirmed that among the grant recipients were the provincial elections commission, or KPUD, and supposedly independent polling officials.

Roy urged the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to monitor how the grants in Jakarta were being used, adding that the City Council, which is supposed to monitor government policy, had been ineffective.