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Gorontalo governor pledges to donate salary to help COVID-19 victims
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Gorontalo Governor Rusli Habibie (right) and Gorontalo police chief Brig. Gen. Adnas (left) announce the province's first confirmed COVID-19 case on Thursday night. (Antara/Adiwinata Solihin)
G
orontalo Governor Rusli Habibie has vowed to donate his salary for the remaining two years of his term to help residents in his province affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.
"There might be children who have lost their fathers or become orphans because of the coronavirus. I give my salary to them," Rusli said last week as quoted by Antara news agency.
He added that the virus not only killed people, but also caused them to lose their jobs and incomes.
The Gorontalo administration has also allocated Rp 7.8 billion (US$496,128) for COVID-19 mitigation in the region.
The funds have been set aside for medical equipment, grants for medical staff and to provide basic necessities for vulnerable groups in society badly hurt by the pandemic.
Gorontalo was the last province in Indonesia to report a confirmed COVID-19 case, with its first case announced last Thursday.
A number of other governors have also said they would donate either part of or their entire salaries to those affected by the outbreak.
West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil, for example, announced in March that the provincial administration's staff, including himself, would take a pay cut for the next four months.
Central Kalimantan Governor Sugianto Sabran also recently vowed to donate his salary and honorarium, totaling approximately 9 million rupiah, for COVID-19 mitigation in the region.
Governors earn a monthly base salary of Rp 3 million per month, a position allowance of Rp 5.4 million, plus operational allowances based on a small percentage of the province’s locally generated income.
