Local govt in stew over cattle markup

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.