Kupang officials go on trip

Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang

As residents of the East Nusa Tenggara capital Kupang cope with a food crisis, malnutrition and fuel shortages, Kupang officials left on Tuesday for a visit to Palmerston in the Northern Territory, Australia.

Those taking part in the five-day, Rp 200 million (US$22,200) trip, which is being financed by the 2005 municipal budget, include Kupang Mayor SK Lerik, Kupang provincial council speaker Dominggus Bola and other local officials and businesspeople.

According to Lerik, the trip is aimed at discussing Australia's assistance in building a maternity clinic in the city, as well as strengthening cooperation with the Northern Territory government, which was disrupted following the violence in East Timor.

Critics have pointed out that the construction of the clinic has been agreed on, and a ceremony to mark the deal was held in early April when Palmerston Mayor Annette Burke visited Kupang.

The trip by the Kupang officials will also reportedly include a visit to the 2005 Darwin Expo.

"We are not going to Palmerston for sightseeing. We have honorable, important intentions. We are using the Rp 200 million from the budget to get financial assistance to improve the people's welfare," Lerik said.

The director of the East Nusa Tenggara People's Initiative Development Center, Sarah Leri Mbuik, criticized the mayor's decision to go ahead with the trip at a time when residents are facing serious problems, including malnutrition and fuel shortages.

"The mayor's trip to Palmerston shows that he has lost his sense of humanity," Mbuik said.

By going forward with the trip, she said the mayor was also ignoring President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's call for greater bureaucratic efficiency.

"It is embarrassing. The Kupang municipal budget only allocates Rp 110 million to deal with malnutrition and the mayor is spending Rp 200 million to go on a trip," Mbuik said.