Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama admitted that he was surprised after seeing the provincial government’s astronomical internet bill.
“I was surprised. When we checked, we paid more than Rp 17 billion for internet per year,” Ahok said at City Hall yesterday, as quoted by Kompas.
The head of Jakarta’s Information, Communications and Public Relations Agency (Diskominfomas), Li Karunia, explained that the Rp 17 billion covers various levels of the Jakarta provincial government, not just City Hall.
“So this budget is to pay for the internet for the mayors’ [offices], districts, all the way to subdistricts. Even some clinics are already connected with internet,” Li said.
Next year, Li predicts that the provincial government’s bill will be even bigger as they look to expand the bandwidth from 3 MB to 6 MB.
“This expansion is so we can sufficiently provide an integrated public service. Possibly, internet payment this year will go beyond Rp 20 billion.”
