Strong leadership needed to ensure Samosir's future<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Pangururan, North Sumatra<\/p>\n
A widely-accepted leader who can resolve social, economic and
\nenvironmental problems as well as make rapid changes in the
\nfuture are the main things needed in any future leader of Samosir
\nregency, according to local religious and informal leaders.<\/p>\n
They criticized the weak leadership of acting regent Wilmar E.
\nSimandjorang, saying he did little except talk.<\/p>\n
The regency is scheduled to hold a regental election on June
\n27, 2005, to elect a new regent and so far, four candidates --
\nbusinessmen and scholars who were born on the island but have
\nbeen living in Jakarta or Medan -- have emerged to contest the
\nelection.<\/p>\n
Ompu Tambatua Sidabutar, an informal leader in Tomok, a much-
\nvisited tourist resort in the regency, said Wilmar had brought
\nabout no significant changes during the 15 months of his tenure
\nas he lacked strong leadership skills.<\/p>\n
\"He has talked too much to the local and foreign media but he
\nhas made no changes on the ground. What changes have we had?
\nNothing. What the people need is a strong leader who has a good
\nrapport with local traditional and religious figures, and local
\nand foreign investors so as to develop the new regency,\" he told
\nThe Jakarta Post recently.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that many locals had been confused by the new
\nregency's formation as no changes had been made and the poor
\ncircumstances of most people in the regency persisted.<\/p>\n
\"The present situation is not much different from that of five
\nyears ago. So, why do we need a new regency,\" he said.<\/p>\n
T. Simanihuruk, another informal leader in Simanindo, said the
\nnew regency needed a strong leader who was capable of persuading
\nall traditional and religious communities for their active
\nparticipation in resolving the regency's problems.<\/p>\n
\"Samosir has no natural resources ... it has great potential
\nto accelerate its economic development in the agricultural and
\ntourism sectors,\" he said.<\/p>\n
For instance, he suggested that the government promote the use
\nof wind power to pump water from Lake Toba to reservoirs in the
\nSamosir Highlands. This water could then be used to irrigate
\nthousands of hectares of farmland.<\/p>\n
Brother Michael Sinaga, a Roman Catholic figure, said the next
\nleader needed to propose an integrated development program based
\non sustainable development.<\/p>\n
\"A development program is a must to empower the people,
\neradicate poverty and improve the quality of our human capital,
\nbut it must be combined with an environmental preservation
\nprogram because the regency has to sell its natural beauty to
\ndomestic and foreign tourists,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said that strong leadership was needed to persuade
\ntraditional and informal leaders to voluntarily hand over a
\nportion of their land to the local administration and to foreign
\ninvestors to develop physical infrastructure and the tourism
\nindustry.<\/p>\n
\"Many foreign investors are interested in establishing
\ninternational standard hotels and bungalows in tourist resorts in
\nthe regency, but they have found it difficult to invest here
\nbecause of soaring land prices and the poor condition of the
\nbasic infrastructure, such as public transportation and the road
\nnetwork,\" he said.<\/p>\n
M.S. Simbolon, a church minister in Pangururan, concurred and
\nsaid the next leader should also understand the need to preserve
\nthe environment, and the area's cultural heritage and values.<\/p>\n
\"Aquaculture on Lake Toba must be stopped as it has damaged
\nthe lake's ecosystem and caused problems for the tourism
\nindustry. All deforested areas in the highlands need to be
\nreplanted to maintain the water supply to the lake,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He added that development in the regency should be governed by
\nthe Lake Toba Ecosystem Management Plan (LTEMP), which Samosir
\nand seven regencies in the Toba Highlands adopted recently.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/strong-leadership-needed-to-ensure-samosirs-future-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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