Governor: Housing improvements prioritised to reduce poverty rates

Palu — Central Sulawesi Governor Anwar Hafid has emphasised that upgrading substandard and uninhabitable housing (RTLH) to meet liveable standards is the foremost priority in reducing poverty rates, particularly in Donggala Regency.

“If you want to resolve poverty, first improve the housing,” Anwar Hafid stated in a statement issued in Palu on Sunday.

According to him, one of the obstacles preventing a reduction in poverty rates in Central Sulawesi is the continued prevalence of substandard housing occupied by residents.

He made these remarks during a working meeting between the Central Sulawesi Provincial Government and the Donggala Regency Government.

To this end, he has requested that local authorities conduct verification and validation of data to identify families living in substandard housing as the basis for poverty alleviation intervention programmes through housing renovation initiatives.

Furthermore, he stated that Donggala will be used as a pilot project for other regencies in the programme to transform substandard housing into liveable homes.

“This is what we must do first to resolve poverty,” he said.

He also encouraged local authorities to consistently use DTSEN (Data Terpadu Sejahtera Elektronik) as a reference for data-based development planning to ensure that programmes are more effective and precisely targeted.

He emphasised the importance of aligning programmes and policies between the provincial and regency governments to ensure that development is carried out effectively, measurably, and with precise targeting, particularly in accelerating the reduction of poverty rates.

As a concrete demonstration of such support, the provincial government also symbolically handed over 25 tonnes of rice to Regent Vera Laruni for distribution to residents in need.