Lampung activist demands revision of budget proposal<\/p>\n
Oyos Saroso, Bandarlampung<\/p>\n
Activists have demanded that the local provincial council review
\nthe Lampung governor's proposed additional budget spending (ABT),
\nas it provided opportunities for irregularities.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, the ABT, already given the green light by the
\nLampung Council's budget committee, shows that the local
\ngovernment has no sense of crisis, said activists of the Care for
\nTransparency and Regional Autonomy Network (JMPTOD).<\/p>\n
\"One item that has to be revised is the purchase of a firearm
\nat Rp 150 million (US$15,879),\" said Aryanto from the network.<\/p>\n
He argued that the purchase of a firearm for the governor was
\nexorbitant and prone to a markup.<\/p>\n
\"I can't imagine that a gun costs Rp 150 million. It's a waste
\nof money,\" he said, while questioning the necessity of the
\npurchase. \"Lampung is relatively peaceful, so the purchase of a
\ngun is questionable. It is likely this is merely an attempt to
\nshow off.\"<\/p>\n
As the purchase of the gun will not benefit the administration
\nor the people of Lampung, Aryanto demanded that the budget
\ncommittee scrap the firearm purchase from the ABT.<\/p>\n
The document also contained a proposal to purchase another
\nfirearm, also Rp 150 million, for the deputy governor.<\/p>\n
At a meeting last Thursday, the governor proposed the ABT,
\nwhich included a Rp 900 million (US$97,800) item for \"governor's
\nsecurity\". Of this amount, Rp 600 million is allocated for
\nfirearms for security guards, while the rest covers the firearms
\npurchases for the governor and the deputy governor.<\/p>\n
In response, councillor Muzakir Noor said he would convey the
\ndemand at an upcoming plenary meeting, but underlined the
\ndecision would be up to the Lampung Council.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, councillor Fauzi Saleh from the Golkar Party said
\nthat, as the top official of Lampung, the governor deserved to
\nhave a gun. Fauzi, who also sits on the budget committee, also
\nsaid Rp 150 million for the gun was not exorbitant, as it was
\ninclusive of the gun license fee.<\/p>\n
The furor over the ABT started a few weeks ago, when Governor
\nSjachroedin ZP filed the Rp 39 billion (US$4.23 million) proposed
\nadditional budget spending to the council.<\/p>\n
The extra spending comes on top of the 2004 provincial budget
\nof Rp 767.75 billion, and was approved earlier this year by the
\nLampung Council and administration.<\/p>\n
Of the proposed additional expenditures, 70 percent is to be
\nspent on government procurement and construction projects, and
\nluxury car purchases.<\/p>\n
The cars include a Rp 750 million Toyota Crown for the Lampung
\ngovernor, and two Toyota Camrys at Rp 475 million each -- one for
\nthe Lampung Council speaker and another for the secretary of the
\nLampung administration.<\/p>",
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