Govt plans to resettle 80,000 families in 1997/98

Govt plans to resettle 80,000 families in 1997/98

JAKARTA (JP): The government hopes to resettle 80,000 families
in the 1997/98 fiscal year beginning in April, up from 76,322
targeted this year.

While the new target may appear ambitious, Minister of
Transmigration Siswono Yudohusodo received assurances of
cooperation and support from seven fellow cabinet ministers at a
coordination meeting yesterday.

The majority of these families, 52,107, will be resettled in
eastern Indonesia.

The meeting also reviewed the government's program to turn one
million hectares of peat forest in Central Kalimantan province
into transmigration sites, Siswono said.

He announced, after the meeting, that in the next six years
325,000 families will be resettled in Central Kalimantan,
starting modestly this year with 3,000 families, and growing to
98,000 in 2001/2002 fiscal year.

The other seven ministers attending the meeting were Minister
of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro, Minister of
Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave, Minister of
Cooperatives and Small Enterprises Subiakto Tjakrawerdaja,
Minister of Forestry Djamaloedin Soeryohadikoesoemo, Minister of
Population Haryono Suyono, Minister of Agrarian Affairs Soni
Harsono and Minister of Public Housing Akbar Tandjung.

The meeting is the third of its kind since 1994.

Previously, the government's transmigration program
consistently fell behind target, chiefly because of poor
coordination between the various government agencies.

Under the transmigration program the government hopes to
resettle as many people as it can from Java and Bali, both
overcrowded, to sparsely populated islands.

The meeting identified problems in various sectors and came up
with proposed solutions and ideas.

In education, the ministers noted the shortage of teachers and
school buildings as well as the need to upgrade the quality of
teachers.

Wardiman supported the program to offer scholarships to
primary teachers in transmigration areas so they can continue
with their education and upgrade their teaching skills.

Siswono welcomed the suggestion to conduct "open schools" as a
way of overcoming the shortage of junior high schools. He said
more than 29,000 children in transmigration sites are unable to
complete their education because the areas do not have junior
high schools.

The meeting also agreed on the need to encourage the private
sector to participate in the development and growth of
transmigration sites.

The Ministry of Transmigration will try to give as much access
as possible to the participation of private investors, Siswono
said, citing plantation as one business that could be
incorporated in the resettlement program.

The government has already issued operational licenses to 77
plantation companies, he said.

The ministers reviewed credit schemes for small enterprises
run by settlers, subsidies for settlers to upgrade their houses,
and speedier processes for obtaining land certificates.

The meeting looked into the possibility of developing tourism
in transmigration sites, by developing special interests such as
hunting and handicraft.

"The ministry does not want to turn settlers into objects of
spectacle, but the atmosphere of the transmigration areas,
including the farms and villages, could be a source of enjoyment
for tourists," Siswono said. (03)