(11/20/2010)
Bali's governor Made Mangku Pastika has declared that he will not wait for long-promised central government funding in the island's war on the rabies epidemic.
As reported by Balidiscovery.com, Rp. 15 billion (US$1.63 million) [See: When a Lack of Fund Bites Hardest] in national funding promised to combat rabies remains stuck in bureaucratic procedures, despite Jakarta's promise of disbursal in February 2010. The funds, promised from the Department of Agriculture national budge, are desperately needed to pay for a mass-vaccination program for Bali's dog population.
Governor Pastika told Berita.bali.com that the government of Bali cannot wait for the promised national funding and will, instead, use money from the Bali provincial budget (APBD).
According to the law, the funds promised from Jakarta's 2010 budget must be disbursed before December 31, 2010.
"Yeah, we will use our own money because its technically difficult; what's more the time is limited," explained the governor.
The governor said he remained hopeful that the central government would eventually allocate funds for rabies eradication in the coming year.
Bali has set a target of 2013 for regaining the province's "rabies-free" status.
© Bali
Discovery Tours. Articles may be quoted and reproduced
if attributed to http://www.balidiscovery.com.
