El Niño Looms: NTT Governor Urges Regions to Prepare for Drought
The Governor of East Nusa Tenggara, Emanuel Melkiades Laka Lena, has reminded authorities of the serious threat posed by the El Niño phenomenon, which is expected to trigger a longer and more extreme dry season in the NTT region.
He has urged all levels of local government to enhance their preparedness in facing drought risks.
This statement was delivered while leading an assembly with Civil Servants (ASN) under the NTT Provincial Government at the Governor’s Office courtyard in Kupang on Tuesday morning (7/4), following the Easter holiday, attended by NTT Deputy Governor Johni Asadoma and provincial government officials.
According to Melkiades, information from the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) indicates that NTT is one of the regions most likely to be affected by El Niño. Therefore, planned and coordinated anticipatory steps are required between the provincial government and districts/cities.
“If not prepared well, the impacts will be deeply felt by the community, especially in the clean water and agricultural sectors,” he said.
For this reason, he emphasised the importance of concrete actions, such as strengthening water reserves, managing the distribution of clean water, and preparing the agricultural sector for potential crop failures due to prolonged drought. He also requested that regional apparatus immediately prepare emergency response scenarios.
In addition, he reminded that regional financial management must be conducted in a disciplined and targeted manner to support efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change. With limited fiscal conditions, regional spending must be focused on priority programmes that directly benefit the community.
“There must be no budget leakages. Every rupiah must be used effectively, especially for urgent needs such as handling the impacts of El Niño,” he stressed.
According to him, supervision will be tightened by involving law enforcement agencies to prevent deviations in regional financial management.
On the other hand, he also touched on the handling of Government Employees with Work Agreements (PPPK), which is a concern of the central government. He assured that there is a strong commitment to resolving the issue fairly.
“We are grateful that the central government is giving serious attention. The commitment is clear: no PPPK will be laid off,” he said.
The Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) has assured that Indonesia is ready to face the potential impacts of El Niño, supported by food stocks at the highest levels in history.
Horticultural commodities such as chillies and various types of vegetables are expected to be the most affected if prolonged drought occurs.
“We have also prepared a budget for the operational costs of clean water supply tanker trucks, numbering five units with capacities of 5,000 litres and 4,000 litres.”