Harmoko says anti-poverty fight successful<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Information Harmoko, fresh from a
\nwhirlwind tour of 48 districts, said on Saturday that the
\ngovernment's poverty alleviation drive is showing encouraging
\nresults.<\/p>\n
"From what I've seen, the IDT has been quite successful in
\nbolstering the income of villagers," Harmoko told journalists on
\nSaturday, referring to the Presidential Instructions on backward
\nvillages program (IDT).<\/p>\n
He was speaking a few hours after concluding an 11-day tour of
\n48 districts across Java. The annual tour is dubbed the Ramadhan
\nSafari.<\/p>\n
Harmoko said that during the tour he engaged in frank dialog
\nwith villagers, who informed him that the presidential aid
\nprogram was bearing fruit and improving their welfare.<\/p>\n
"They are talking about goats being able to yield furniture
\nand cattle," he said metaphorically.<\/p>\n
The government in 1994 launched the IDT program in which to
\ndate it has parceled out amounts of Rp 20 million (US$8,700) to
\nmore than 22,000 villages which were classified as among the
\npoorest in the country.<\/p>\n
The money is used by the people as seed capital for economic
\nactivities.<\/p>\n
Harmoko maintained during the 3,300 kilometers he traveled,
\nthat he witnessed successful and enterprising endeavors of the
\nvillagers who had ventured into all sorts of businesses, from
\ngoat breeding to making men's ties.<\/p>\n
"From a number of places that I visited, I received reports
\nthat after receiving an injection of IDT funds, the participants
\nof the program have been able to increase their income faster
\nthan the increases in the government-set minimum wages," he said.<\/p>\n
He admitted that there were a few occurrences where the funds
\nwere misused by the recipients.<\/p>\n
He said some used the funds to finance resettlement, some even
\npaid medical bills. "The excesses were small compared to the
\noverall results of the IDT," he added.<\/p>\n
He stressed the need to consider planning for the villagers
\nwho were able to raise their standard of living.<\/p>\n
"We must consider granting them access to credit to finance
\ntheir small enterprises so their economic activities can continue
\nto grow. For instance we must take into account deregulation in
\nthese villages," he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile in Padang, West Sumatra, Minister of Home Affairs
\nYogie SM said on Saturday that since the government began the IDT
\nprogram, more and more villages have claimed to be impoverished.<\/p>\n
"Before we had the IDT, there weren't many village chiefs who
\nwould admit their villages were impoverished or underdeveloped,"
\nYogie said as quoted by Antara.<\/p>\n
Official statistics show that nearly 26 million of 195 million
\nIndonesians still live below the poverty line, which is measured
\non the individual basis of nutritional intake of 2,100 calories
\nper day. (mds)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/harmoko-says-anti-poverty-fight-successful-1447893297",
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