More funds earmarked for poverty alleviation<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government has allocated Rp 330 billion
\n($150 million) for the development of basic infrastructure during
\nthe next 1995-1996 fiscal year in 7,800 of the 22,097 villages
\nclassified as poverty areas, Director General for Rural Community
\nDevelopment H.H. Siagian said yesterday.<\/p>\n
The infrastructure development budget will be provided on top
\nof the Rp 473.73 billion in financial grants to be extended to
\nthe 22,097 poverty pockets in the same year, Siagian told a press
\ndiscussion on poverty alleviation.<\/p>\n
\"Experiences from the first year of implementation of the
\npoverty alleviation program show that infrastructure such as
\ntransportation and communications are crucial for supporting the
\nprogram,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Siagian said access to a local market, for example, is crucial
\nfor supporting the agribusiness ventures already developed by the
\npoor people who have received the financial grant.<\/p>\n
The one-day meeting was organized by the Pena Kencana
\nNusadwipa discussion forum headed by Ahmad Adirsyah.<\/p>\n
Under the concerted poverty alleviation program launched last
\nApril, each of the villages classified as impoverished is
\nprovided with Rp 20 million in annual aid to be used by the
\npeople as seed capital for economic activities.<\/p>\n
Gunawan Sumodiningrat, chief of the District and Rural
\nDevelopment Bureau at the National Development Planning Agency
\nsaid the use of the grant is based on a grass-roots decision
\nmaking process.<\/p>\n
\"The government does not intervene in the way the grant is
\nused. It is the target of poor people themselves who decide on
\nhow to use the fund according to the basic guidelines set by the
\ngovernment,\" Gunawan added.<\/p>\n
Latest estimates based on the 1993 National Social and
\nEconomic Survey by the Central Bureau of Statistics put the total
\nnumber of people living below the poverty line at about 26
\nmillion, or 13.6 percent of the total population in that year.<\/p>\n
The poverty line is drawn on the basis of a minimum daily
\ncalorie intake of 2,100 and a certain quantity of non-food
\nconsumer goods and services.<\/p>\n
\"We include 52 food commodities and 42 non-food consumer goods
\nand services to determine the poverty line,\" Soegito, chief of
\nthe Central Bureau of Statistics said.<\/p>\n
Based on the prices of the quantities of food and non-food
\ncommodities and services in 1993, the poverty line for the urban
\nareas was set at a monthly expenditure of Rp 27,905 ($12.6) and
\nRp 18,244 for the rural areas.<\/p>\n
Revision<\/p>\n
\"We will revise the monthly expenditures based on the
\ncommodities every year to adjust for inflation,\" Soegito added.<\/p>\n
In 1990, for example, the poverty line was set at a monthly
\nexpenditure of Rp 20,600 in urban areas and Rp 13,295 in rural
\nareas.<\/p>\n
Siagian, who together with Gunawan supervise the poverty
\nalleviation program, said that during the first eight months of
\nthe program implementation, 81 percent of the Rp 389.27 billion
\ntotal grant allocation had been disbursed in 19,081 poverty areas
\nor villages.<\/p>\n
\"A great portion of the fund was used by the people as capital
\nfor dairy development, retail trade and other farming
\nactivities,\" Siagian said.<\/p>\n
He added that despite some shortcomings, which are normal in
\nview of the novelty of the program, the injection of Rp 20
\nmillion for every poor village has greatly assisted the aim of
\npeople to raise their incomes through various farming or non-
\nfarming activities.<\/p>\n
The government hopes that by the completion of the three year
\nconcerted poverty alleviation program in 1997, the poor people
\nwould have developed sustainable means of earnings by using the
\naccumulated grant as revolving capital.<\/p>\n
However, Gunawan reiterated the importance of cooperation on
\nthe part of other government agencies, notably local service
\nagencies and non-governmental organizations, to make the program
\na complete success.<\/p>\n
\"Our main concern is how to make the businesses developed by
\nthe poor people with the grant sustainable even after the annual
\ngrant is stopped,\" Siagian said.(vin)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/more-funds-earmarked-for-poverty-alleviation-1447893297",
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