Village chiefs ask for allowance hike

Village chiefs ask for allowance hike

ALOR, East Nusa Tenggara: A number of chiefs in remote
villages in the province have complained over their small
government allowances, warning that they could generate
corruption.

Head of Helandohi village on Alor Island Hermanus Lika Sali
and his Pandai counterpart Rahman Abdullah said on Wednesday they
deserved a bigger annual allowance because of their status, which
sometimes required them to work day and night.

"We have to serve the public round the clock, but who cares
about how we can feed our families. We demand that the government
pay us according to national salary standards," Hermanus said.

He said the inadequate allowance had led some village heads to
embezzle rural development funds.

The current state budget allocates Rp 45,000 for each village
head's annual allowance. The East Nusa Tenggara provincial
administration has set an additional allowance for each village
chief of Rp 150,000 for the current fiscal year.

Village heads do not earn salaries from the government because
they are not part of the bureaucracy.

Ngada Regent Albert Nong Botha told visiting provincial
legislature members recently that many village heads in the
regency refused to take part-time work. (yac)