Bandung Regency Government Prepares Emergency Measures to Tackle Drought
The Bandung Regency Government has moved swiftly to anticipate and manage the impact of drought in its area. This strategic step was discussed at a coordination meeting and regional performance evaluation led directly by the Regent of Bandung, Dadang Supriatna, on Monday (20 July).
In his directions, Dadang emphasised the importance of readiness across all regional apparatus, regionally owned enterprises (BUMD) and sub-district governments. The main focus was directed at a rapid response to clean water needs and anticipating the potential for a food crisis in the community.
“The Bandung Regency Government has prepared various emergency handling measures, ranging from optimising the use of water pumps, repairing piped water infrastructure, to providing clean water assistance for affected communities,” said Dadang.
To ensure the response is swift and transparent, the Regent instructed the use of a complaint hotline service connected directly to a cross-agency coordination group. Through this system, every public report regarding disrupted water channels or the need for clean water facilities can be immediately followed up by the relevant agencies and the regional water company Perumda Air Minum Tirta Raharja.
“Every report I send directly to the coordination group. There we can immediately provide solutions, determining which points need piping or water pump assistance,” he asserted.
In addition, Dadang asked Perumda Air Minum Tirta Raharja to actively convey the progress of field handling through digital media. He stressed the importance of information transparency to enhance public trust.
“The PDAM should make videos; I also make videos on Instagram. For instance, if there is a broken channel, it is immediately inspected by the Director, and the results are communicated to the public in a before-and-after format,” he added.
Beyond drought management, the evaluation meeting also highlighted the alignment of the regional budget. The Bandung Regency Government is currently mapping its budget following a regional deficit and a decline in the Regional Financial Transfer Fund (TKD).
Nevertheless, Dadang assured that the budget for basic services and priority programmes that directly touch the community will not be reduced. “On Wednesday we will finalise it. Currently, we are mapping out efficiencies in programmes that seemingly provide less direct benefit,” he explained.
To safeguard regional revenue stability, the Bandung Regency Government is strengthening collaboration with the West Java High Prosecutor’s Office (Kejati) and the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) to improve tax compliance, particularly in the tourism sector.
Finally, the Regent emphasised the importance of improving the quality of civil servant human resources and digital literacy. He instructed the Personnel and Human Resources Development Agency (BKPSDM) to formulate training programmes so that the apparatus is more responsive, adaptive to technology and professional in delivering public services.