Asian Games Preparations Accelerated
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Preparations for the 2018 Asian Games are expected to accelerate after President Joko Widodo signs a presidential regulation on the procurement of goods and services. The regulation will enable the Indonesian Asian Games 2018 Organizing Committee (Inasgoc) to ramp up its work.
The regulation will enable Inasgoc to attract sponsors, carry out preparation works and manage the budget. The regulation is necessary as the host of the Asian Games is bound by an Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) ruling that stipulates cooperation with their partners in procuring goods and services.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who heads the Inasgoc Steering Committee, said the regulation’s final draft was being finalized by echelon-I officials from several ministries before a deliberation session in a joint meeting. “I assure you that the President will sign the regulation next week,” Kalla said in an interview with Kompas on Wednesday (29/3/2017) night.
The regulation’s finalization is among the topics discussed in a meeting between representatives of state institutions involved in the Asian Games preparations at the Vice President’s Office.
Youth and Sports Ministry Secretary Gatot S. Dewa Broto said the draft regulation had been signed by Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and had been delivered to Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Puan Maharani to be signed.
Gatot explained that the signing of the presidential regulation had been delayed due to prolonged deliberations on the legal form of the Inasgoc. At first, Inasgoc was prepared as a public service agency (BLU) due to its temporary nature with the Asian Games 2018 being a one-time event. “However, as the legal basis for BLUs does not yet exist, there will be further discussions as to what will be the best legal status for the Inasgoc,” he said.
Faster
Inasgoc responded positively to the news. “Of course, once the presidential regulation is issued, Inasgoc will be able to move faster as the regulation is about two major things, namely revenue management and procurement management of special goods and services,” said Inasgoc secretary-general Harry Warganegara.
Harry said Inasgoc was not yet able to sign any collaboration agreements with sponsors due to its lack of legal status clarity. “With the new regulation, Inasgoc’s status will be clear and we can sign contracts with sponsors,” he said.
The regulation also enables Inasgoc to manage a budget of Rp 500 billion (US$375,686) to recruit volunteers, match officials and coaches. The budget is also needed to procure equipment for the sports arenas.
The Inasgoc will need to rent match broadcasting equipment. Next year, the Asian Games will be held just one month after the World Cup, therefore equipment rentals should be carried out earlier.
Regarding budget management, Kalla said several presidential regulations should be revised and the government was in the final stage of disbursing the budget.
“Apart from establishing a public service agency, we are also involving the Development Finance Comptroller [BPKP] and the National Procurement Agency [LKPP] to monitor the budget and the tender project. I guarantee that all the funds can be disbursed according to procedures and in ways that do not break the law. Once the presidential regulations have been signed next week, we hope everything goes well,” Kalla said.
Negotiations
Apart from the budget from the government, the Inasgoc will also try to attract sponsors. The Vice President will lead a coordination meeting on the roles and participation of sponsors on Thursday. “This is just about how to sell the Asian Games to a billion Asians in ways that will benefit the sponsoring companies,” Kalla said.
Sponsors will also be discussed by Inasgoc in its meeting with OCA President Sheikh Ahmed al-Fahad al-Sabah during the latter’s visit to Indonesia on April 17-18. Inasgoc will renegotiate the revenue-sharing scheme for sponsors brought in by the OCA.
“OCA wishes for a 50-50 split [of sharing revenue], but even the International Olympic Committee only receives 10 percent of profits from sponsors. So, we will renegotiate,” Harry said.
The meeting is also important to renegotiate the sporting events that will be held in the Games. The Vice President said he wanted to reduce the Games’ sports from 42 to 36 to make the budget more efficient.
In line with Article 68 of the OCA Statute, an Asian Games host is required to include 28 Olympics sports. Beyond that, Indonesia has also committed to facilitating five new sporting events that will be included in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. This means that there are only three more slots for non-Olympic sports to be included in the 2018 Asian Games.
Report to the President
Each development in Asian Games preparations will be reported by Vice President Jusuf Kalla to President Joko Widodo. Kalla said he provided the President with updates each time they met. “Tomorrow [Thursday] afternoon, I will submit another report to the President,” he said.
Kalla said the government still needed to complete infrastructure construction and finalize the draft presidential regulation.
“Everything is moving quickly since I was appointed by the President to replace him as head of the steering committee in a limited meeting on March 2. Not everything is done, but this does not mean preparations for the Asian Games have stagnated. Where did you get that idea?” Kalla said.
(NTA/OKI/ROW/HAR)