Disadvantaged regions need govt attention

Disadvantaged regions need govt attention

Sigit Pinardi, Antara News Agency/Jakarta

A middle-aged woman was seen sobbing as Syaifullah Yusuf, the
State Minister for the Development of Disadvantaged Regions,
noticed her. While wiping her tears, the woman, a teacher, shared
with the minister the sorry state of her school. She showed the
minister what a decrepit state the Mekarsari II elementary school
building was in. The classroom ceiling had fallen down in places,
while the number of chairs was never enough, meaning two students
per chair.

After the tour of the deteriorating education facility, Itje
Farida, the teacher, then asked the minister to he help with the
renovation of the building so that the students could study.
"Please, lend us a hand," begged Farida, whose school is located
about 40 kilometers north of Garut, which is one of some 199
disadvantaged regions in the country.

In front of the minister, Farida also complained that
electricity had not reached some residents while road conditions
in Mekarsari village were deplorable. "It's embarrassing that we
have to ask for so much. But, I don't know what else to say,"
said Farida.

Such scenes have become familiar for Syaifullah since he was
appointed as the State Minister for the Development of
Disadvantaged Regions last year. According to data at his
ministry, 199 regencies out of total some 400 regencies and
municipalities across the nation are disadvantaged regions.

In order to spur development in the disadvantaged regions,
Syaifullah had been coordinating measures with other ministries.

"We collect data on where the disadvantaged regions are
located and conduct studies to collect data on what type of
development should take place. We then send the data to related
ministries in order for them carry out development programs
pertaining to their respective sectors," explained Syaifullah.

In order to ensure the data in the studies is valid, the
minister has often gone to the respective regions in order to
check the reliability. The minister does not only check the
validity of the data during his visit, but also helps coordinate
development with the related government agencies or ministries,
such as the Ministry of Public Works or the Manpower Ministry.

He has often stated that promoting development in the
disadvantaged regions was not an easy job. It requires hard work,
people's participation and of course, money.

"From a study conducted by the National Development Planning
Body (Bappenas), Rp 20 trillion (US$2.1 billion) is needed to for
development in disadvantaged regions. Unfortunately, the
government does not have much money," said Syaifullah.

Although he understood that the government lacked the money,
Syaifullah said that he was making efforts to get the budget
allocation increased.

"We have proposed the disbursement of Rp 250 million for each
disadvantaged village in the 2005 Budget Revision, which is set
to be approved by the House of Representatives," he said.

Due to the lack of funding, not all villages will receive the
money this year. Out of over 30,000 disadvantaged villages, there
will be only 12,000 villages that receive any money this year, he
said.

Responding to the minister's statement, Garut Regent Agus
Supriadi said that at first, he was concerned that his regency
was placed on the list of disadvantaged regions. However, later
on, he learned that having been categorized as a disadvantaged
region was a blessing in disguise for the region.

Having been named a disadvantaged region, Garut's development
will be given priority by the government.

"In addition, it has encouraged us to work harder in order for
Garut to be more prosperous," said Agus.