Rp 13.5b house for governor<\/p>\n
Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang<\/p>\n
At a time when the people of East Nusa Tenggara are still coping
\nwith a food crisis and widespread malnutrition, the provincial
\ncouncil has approved a proposed a budget of Rp 13.5 billion
\n(US$1.5 million) to construct a new official residence for the
\ngovernor.<\/p>\n
The budget is much more than the overall Rp 11 billion set
\naside to deal with the food crisis, prolonged drought and
\nmalnutrition in the disadvantaged province, where more than 60
\npercent of its people are living below the poverty line.<\/p>\n
A member of the council's budget committee, Chen Abubakar,
\nsaid on Tuesday the governor's official residence would be
\nconstructed over three years, from 2005 to 2008. The house will
\nbe equipped with VVIP guest rooms, tennis courts and a swimming
\npool.<\/p>\n
He said the council did not object to the proposed budget
\nconsidering the present house was no longer fit to live in.<\/p>\n
\"The 13.5 billion budget will be set aside over three years
\nfrom the provincial budget,\" Chen said.<\/p>\n
He said the old house was already in poor shape, with parts of
\nits roof leaking during the rainy season and some rooms that were
\nintended for office use could not serve the purpose.<\/p>\n
When charged the decision showed the administration and the
\ncouncil's insensitivity to the many problems experienced by the
\npeople, he played it down, saying they would still give priority
\nto addressing various problems, especially the prolonged drought,
\nfood crisis and malnutrition.<\/p>\n
\"The construction of the official house has been planned since
\n2003,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The provincial administration earlier estimated that more than
\n30,000 hectares of farmland suffered total crop failure due to
\nsevere drought during the dry season, causing financial losses
\nestimated at Rp 191 billion (US$20.5 million).<\/p>\n
As of June, 45 children in the province's six regencies were
\ndiagnosed with marasmus, while 33,910 were suffering from
\nmalnutrition and 8,218 others were undernourished.<\/p>\n
Separately on Tuesday, spokesman for East Nusa Tenggara's
\ngovernor, Umbu Saga Anakaka, said the governor's official
\nresidence on Jl. El. Tari, which was built in 1962, looked good
\nfrom the outside but on the inside it was falling apart.<\/p>\n
He said that with the provincial council's approval, the
\nconstruction of the new residence would proceed immediately.
\nGovernor Piet A. Tallo has already moved out of the official
\nhouse to his own residence in Oebufu subdistrict, Kupang city.<\/p>\n
\"Currently, the tender has been announced. The house is being
\nbuilt because the old house is damaged, not to show off when many
\nresidents are experiencing hard times,\" Umbu said.<\/p>",
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