Farmers' credit queried

MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi (JP): The government could face losing 60 percent of Rp 457 billion (US$65 million) in credit earmarked for farmers in South Sulawesi due to corruption by cooperatives and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), a provincial legislator said.

The head of Commission B of the South Sulawesi provincial legislature, Ambas Syam, said on Saturday he suspected officials of cooperatives and NGOs were channeling most of the credit to private companies or transferring it to their personal accounts.

He said the provincial legislature would form a task force to investigate the alleged irregularities. (27)