Basofi's van buying spree sparks criticism

SURABAYA (JP): East Java governor Basofi Sudirman has come under fire for buying 640 Isuzu Panther vans worth Rp 23 billion (US$9.7 million) for subdistrict chiefs without consulting the legislative council.

The multipurpose vans are intended to make the subdistrict chiefs more mobile in handling activities related to the 1997 general election.

Basofi's critics suspect that the vans were handed over on Aug. 7 as "incentives" for the local officials to mobilize support for the ruling political organization, Golkar.

The criticism was leveled Thursday by councilors from Golkar's rivals, the United Development Party (PPP) and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI).

One PDI councilor said that the provincial government spends too much money on its employees while it only allocates 16.6 percent of its Rp 100 billion development fund for vital activities such as poverty reduction.

"This misplaced priority will encourage large-scale leakage in the government budget and confuse the public," said Fatimah Hany Harnanik, the PDI's spokeswoman in the council.

Meanwhile, the PPP criticized the governor for his failure to consult with the legislative council before going on his buying spree.

"The provincial budget revisions have not even been approved yet by the legislative council and the government has already handed over the vans bought with money from the state budget," PPP councilor Mu'thy Nurhadi said.

Written on the sides of each deep blue colored van is "Back to the Village" -- Basofi's slogan for his development policy that focuses on rural areas.

Basofi argued that the subdistrict chiefs "urgently need" the vans to replace their aging Mitsubishi vans.

He said he would explain the purchase to the legislative council in due time. "Allegations that the vans are intended as incentives for subdistrict chiefs are groundless," he told The Jakarta Post.

An informed source told the Post that of the 640 vans, 32 are bonus vans, offered by car dealers to the government.

Mu'thy said the vans were bought at the expense of other needs. (15/pan)