Rejecting Procurement Of New Service Cars Of IDR 3 Billion, Yogyakarta Walkot Asks To Be Transferred To Waste Management

Piles of garbage in one of the depots in the city of Yogyakarta because the Piyungan TPA were closed, Monday 9 May 2022. (ANTARA-Eka AR)

JAKARTA - Yogyakarta Mayor Hasto Wardoyo refused to procure a new official car for himself and Yogyakarta Deputy Mayor (Wawalawot) Wawan Harmawan.

Hasto asked for the budget to be diverted to support the handling of waste in the city of Yogyakarta.

"I want to buy a new car, yes, for an official car. I said the old car was still good, even though it might have been three years or four years ago," said Hasto after the handover of the Walkot and Yogyakarta Wawalkot positions at Yogyakarta City Hall, Monday, March 3, confiscated by Antara.

Hasto said that the budget, which was originally allocated for the purchase of official cars for himself and his deputy, was estimated at almost Rp. 3 billion.

He considered the funds to be more useful if they were allocated for the procurement of garbage carts for all RWs in the city of Yogyakarta. Moreover, the problem of garbage is becoming one of the concerns in Gudeg City.

"It's better if the car that you want to buy for me and for the Deputy, at least the budget could be almost Rp. 3 billion. That's better for us to use to build garbage carts. So with the existing mechanism, I will refocus the budget to buy the car for change (APBD), I use it to make garbage carts," he explained.

Hasto admitted that he had calculated the budget needs for the procurement of waste carts throughout the RW. With an average price of around Rp. 5 million, the available funds can be used to make around 600 garbage carts.

"I have calculated, if you make 600 garbage carts, as many as RWs in the city of Yogyakarta, it only takes around Rp. 3 billion," he added.

Not only rejecting the new official car, Hasto also refused to procure furniture and new beds for work facilities and his official residence.

"So why am I given an official car, the old official car is still good. I want to buy a new furniture, a new bed, I don't have to. The old bed is there, the old furniture is also there. I can also use it to buy to make garbage carts, yes," he said.

This decision, according to Hasto, is based on the spirit of efficiency that must be applied in all levels of government, including in the use of the budget for regional official facilities.

"In principle, in the 2025 era, there is a spirit for change in the 'mindset', yes, that local governments are held in an effective, efficient way. I think that spirit is important for us to realize in 2025. That is the basis of all activities," said Hasto.