Local govt in stew over cattle markup

Rusman, The Jakarta Post, Samarinda, East Kalimantan

Provincial legislators here are set to question the East Kalimantan provincial administration on an alleged markup in the planned purchase of 1,000 head of cattle from Australia.

"We will question them immediately over the alleged markup. Basically, we won't endorse the plan if the government cannot explain the markup to us," said Nurhuda Trisula, a member of the budget committee at the provincial legislative council.

According to the government proposal lodged with the budget committee recently, the East Kalimantan provincial government will buy 1,000 Brahma Cross cows from an Australian company.

The purchase is aimed at providing prime breeding cattle for 13 regencies or municipalities in the province, in order to boost livestock farming in those areas.

However, the price quoted in the proposal was way above normal. According to the proposal, each animal cost the provincial government Rp 12 million, so the government had to pay Rp 12 billion (US$ 1.5 million) for a total 1,000 cows. The legislators smelt something fishy in the proposal, as the normal price of a cow in the province stood at only at Rp 7 million per animal.

Another budget committee member, Maruli Hutapea, recently urged the provincial government to hold a roundtable meeting to bring the alleged markup into the open.

The meeting will be attended by three parties, namely provincial legislators, the government and the Australian company due to supply the cows. He hoped that the price of the cattle would be made clear after the meeting.

Contacted separately, acting head of the Animal Husbandry Office at the provincial government Imam Waluyo declined to discuss the alleged markup.

"I don't know about the plan. I only knew that the cows would be shipped from Australia, but the technicalities behind the purchase of the cows are still unknown to me," said Imam, recently appointed after his predecessor retired.