CITIZEN JOURNALISM

The Twists and Turns of the Sink Project in Aceh

by Irma Sari

Rain that morning, Thursday (9/12/2021), almost canceled plans to commemorate International Anti-Corruption Day in Banda Aceh City. Rain makes the roads wet and slippery. In fact, it can trigger flooding and hamper residents' activities. Maybe, no one comes to our event. As a committee, this is not what we expected.

Luckily, at 10.00 the rain stopped. We breathed a sigh of relief. Participants began to arrive at our activity which was held in a cafe. The event was initiated by Gerak Aceh, an anti-corruption organization. The discussion entitled "Democracy Without Corruption" presented representatives from various elements of civil society in the city of Banda Aceh.

I was named a facilitator because I was considered to have mastered anti-corruption issues, especially corruption in the Procurement of Goods and Services (PBJ). PBJ is the largest corruption sector in Aceh. I gained knowledge about this issue when I was a member of the PBJ Aceh Monitoring Committee since May 2021.

In that forum, I explained the procurement of goods and services, especially the sink project which had caused losses to the country during the difficult times of the Covid-19 pandemic. News about our findings can be read in a number of media, such as at https://www.kompas.id/baca/desk/2021/12/09/keterlibatan-milenial-aceh-dalam-isu-antikokerja-butuh-dukungan/.

However, through this article, I want to explain the ins and outs of the monitoring we have carried out since August 2021. Initially, we searched several government channels to get initial information on the procurement of goods and services. We also visited the Electronic Procurement Service (LPSE) channel, the General Procurement Plan Information System for the Goods/Services Procurement Policy Agency (SiRUP LKPP), the Provider Performance Information System (SIKaP-LKPP), the Civil Society Organization Channel, such as International Corruption Watch (ICW) which also did not escape our search.

We check the name of the buyer (SKPD), project title, contract value, budget ceiling, work category, implementation location, type of selection procedure, number of bids, contract award date, tender code, General Procurement Plan (RUP) code, as well as selection time and source of funds. After that, we took a deep dive into the project winning companies.

We tried to find out the company's track record in working on previous projects, company address, company owner and position. This search is important to determine whether there are allegations of violations or vertical and horizontal conspiracies, monopoly, conflicts of interest, as well as the company's political connections with policy makers.

Finally, we received information that this sink project cost IDR 44,000,958,000. This project was built in 390 school locations using the direct procurement method in Aceh Province. Each school gets 11 sink units and one water storage unit. This project is a manifestation of disciplined health protocols as students return to school.

The construction of a sink with a fantastic budget prompted me to explore whether the policies issued by the Aceh Government through the Aceh regional work unit (SKPA) of the Aceh Education Service are right on target? So, can this project break the chain of transmission of Covid-19?

Once we took to the field, the results were very surprising. There are a number of discrepancies in project implementation. The construction of the sink was carried out carelessly, the water taps were damaged, the water did not flow, and the connecting pipe was not completely connected to the sink. In fact, there was a sink that was completely damaged and couldn't be used. I carried out direct observations at Senior High School (SMA) 1 and SMA 3 in Banda Aceh, as well as SMA 1 and SMA Peusangan Selatan in Bireun Regency.

Another finding is that quite a few school students did not implement health protocols during the Covid-19 pandemic. They don't wear masks, don't keep their distance, and don't wash their hands when they enter the classroom.

"Students at our school are quite indifferent (indifferent) to washing their hands. Here the school is as usual, there is no learning from home. We go to school every day, as if there is no Covid-19," said a teacher at SMA 1 Peusangan Selatan, Bireun Regency who did not want to be named. Bireun is one of the districts in Aceh that does not implement distance learning despite the pandemic.

This means that the sink project does not guarantee the enforcement of health protocols in schools. On the other hand, the Aceh Education Service project with a budget of IDR 122,674,000 per package with a total of 390 packages is considered unreasonable. Moreover, if we talk about the quality of development projects, it is not perfect, and  cannot be utilized. In fact, schools must build better and more efficient portable sinks.

This project also lacks transparency because it is indicated that there is no public participation. Project notice boards in the schools I visited, for example, were not visible. In fact, procurement principles that are practiced internationally must prioritize efficiency, effectiveness, healthy competition, openness, transparency, non-discrimination and accountability.

These various findings led me to confirm with the local education department regarding the construction of the sink project budgeted by the education department, whether the project was monitored after the project was declared complete.  I met T. Fariyal, S.Sos, Head of the Technical Implementation Unit for the Communication and Information Technology Center (UPTD Tekkomdik) of the Aceh Education Service.

"The project to build hand washing sinks for high schools in districts/cities has gone through good planning. However, the question of the project being made haphazardly and the sink not being able to be used and utilized properly is not my authority to answer. I am not the authorized budget holder (KPA) at the education service," he said.

This is my biggest challenge in finding information on  sink projects. Not everyone I interviewed dared to talk and be open about this project. I suspect that their fear is because this project has been audited by the Financial Audit Agency (BPK) regarding LHP No: 23.A/LHP/XVIII.BAC/05/2021 dated 3 May 2021 concerning the report on the audit results of the Aceh government's financial statements for the 2020 fiscal year. This sink case has even been handled by the Aceh Regional Police.

The Covid-19 pandemic has destroyed the fabric of human life, in terms of health, social, economic and educational aspects. The Covid-19 pandemic is a difficult time for all people in the world, including children who must continue to study at various schools in the city of Banda Aceh and Bireun district, Aceh Province. The hope is that all projects budgeted with public money must be in accordance with the needs of the community on the ground, there is good planning and supervision from the government and the community.  The sink project should not only clean students' hands, but also clean Aceh of corruption.