Resettlement successfully alleviates poverty<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Participants in the international seminar on
\npopulation resettlement agreed yesterday that, despite
\ndifferences in background, transmigration programs have proven
\nsuccessful in reducing social disparity.<\/p>\n
Representatives from Ethiopia, Brazil, the Philippines,
\nVietnam, Bangladesh and Indonesia all said resettlement also
\npromotes regional development, on the condition that governments
\nsponsor the programs and then monitor progress.<\/p>\n
Kartomo Wirosuhardjo, a demographic expert at the University
\nof Indonesia, said the Indonesian program has been accepted
\nnationwide because it helps narrow the gap between the rich and
\nthe poor, and between the regions.<\/p>\n
About seven million landless Indonesians have been resettled
\nand have significantly improved their welfare in their new homes,
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Brazilian Minister of Agriculture Raul David Do Valle said his
\ncountry launched a set of agrarian reforms in 1964 to regulate
\nland ownership. Brazil, like Indonesia, has progressed greatly in
\nits effort to alleviate poverty, he said.<\/p>\n
\"My government is currently intensifying land reforms to
\nresettle 1.4 million landless workers and unemployed people,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He said the approximate per capita income has reached
\nUS$2,300. The country has 154 million people.<\/p>\n
Ngo The Dan, Vietnam's vice minister of agriculture and rural
\ndevelopment, said his government was also intensifying its
\ntransmigration program. He said the poor constitute 20 percent of
\nthe country's 74 million people.<\/p>\n
\"Besides the resettlement programs, our government has also
\ntaken new deregulatory measures to woo foreign investors and to
\ncreate more job opportunities,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said Vietnam, as the poorest member in the Association of
\nSoutheast Asian Nations, would continue to learn how to promote
\ntransmigration from other members.<\/p>\n
Cambodian Minister of Rural Development Hong Sun Hot said the
\nresettlement program in his war-torn country focused on
\nresettling millions of refugees following the reinstatement of
\nthe Cambodian Kingdom and government in 1993.<\/p>\n
\"Besides resettling the war's returnees, the government is
\ncooperating with the UN High Commission for Refugees in handling
\nthe problem of 360,000 people displaced in the civil war,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Prof. Mubyarto, from Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta,
\nmoderated yesterday's session and said that compared to the other
\ncountries, Indonesia is far more advance in promoting
\nresettlement as a way to alleviate poverty.<\/p>\n
\"Progress in quantity and quality has been made,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Mubyarto, who is also the assistant to Minister of National
\nDevelopment Planning Ginandjar Kartasasmita, concurred that
\ngovernments must play a key role in conducting and monitoring the
\nprograms.<\/p>\n
Without proper supervision and proof of results, \"the programs
\ncan be seen as a waste,\" he said.<\/p>\n
P.J. Van Dooren, an expert consultant at the Ministry of
\nTransmigration between 1970 and 1983, said the transmigration
\nprogram in Indonesia is often criticized because of glitches in
\nits implementation.<\/p>\n
There have been reports of settlers in remote areas in Sumatra
\nand Kalimantan not being provided with proper housing and
\nfacilities, he said.<\/p>\n
He said that the government must be selective when identifying
\ngroups to be included in its transmigration program.<\/p>\n
\"The program should be earmarked only for landless peasants,
\nthe unemployed and the poor,\" he said. (rms)<\/p>",
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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