Debt Chaos Makes Contractors Want To Seal Official Cars And Hallies, NTB Governor Ensures Arrears Will Be Paid

Governor of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), Zulkieflimansyah. BETWEEN/Nur Imansyah

The Governor of West Nusa Tenggara, Zulkieflimansyah, is committed to paying off the provincial government (Pemprov) debt to contractors following the plan to seal his official car and the governor's pavilion.

"We will finish it, but it must also be adjusted to the regional financial capacity," Zulkieflimansyah said in Mataram as reported by ANTARA, Wednesday, May 3.

He said the NTB Provincial Government ensures that it remains committed to paying off debts to contractors in NTB. In fact, some of these debts have been repaid.

However, Zulkieflimansyah appealed to contractors to pay off construction costs in NTB in stages.

"God willing, in June or July we will finish it," said Bang Zul, his nickname.

Regarding the plan to seal his official car and the governor's pavilion by a number of contractors related to the unpaid project debt, Zulkieflimansyah admitted that he was not at the location when the contractors came to the pavilion.

Instead, he assessed that the problem of project debt was that the contractor went directly to the relevant agencies that provided the work.

"It's better if you go to someone who gives you a job. Then communicate to the person or the official concerned so that the problem is clear and we can solve it," he said.

The Governor of NTB explained that all governments in Indonesia also experienced the same thing after COVID-19 hit. Including NTB also experienced delays in project payments due to budget refocusing for handling COVID-19.

"We don't think that COVID-19 will come, so the budget previously for development must be paid to save people's lives. But we are sure that we will solve this problem gradually," he said.

Previously, the NTB Governor's official car and pavilion were threatened with being sealed by contractors because the project debt had not been paid off. The incident of the contractor's sealing attempt occurred on Wednesday afternoon (3/5) at the NTB Governor's Hall.