Govt to focus on education, health in eliminating poverty
Govt to focus on education, health in eliminating poverty
Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government has reiterated its vow to improve the living
conditions of people by raising the quality of public education
and health services.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla said on Wednesday all public school
buildings and community health centers (Puskesmas) in the country
would be up to standard within three years.
"We want to reach a level where no more school buildings are
in poor condition and in danger of collapse," he said in his
opening remarks at a conference on poverty eradication and the UN
millennium development goals.
"Nor will there be any Puskesmas that are short of doctors or
medicine," the vice president said.
Minister of National Education Bambang Sudibyo said many
school buildings in the country were no longer suitable for
educational activities, and that repairing them would require Rp
5 trillion (some $520 million) over the next three years.
"We will find a solution for this financial need to meet our
commitment within the time frame," he said.
The two-day conference is being organized by the Office of the
Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare and the World Bank,
and is being attended by representatives of regional
administrations as well as non-governmental organizations.
The UN expects its member countries to achieve the eight-point
millennium development goals by 2015. These goals include
eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, providing universal
primary education, promoting gender equality and empowering
women, reducing child mortality rates and improving maternal
health.
In its medium-term development program, the government aims to
reduce the nation's poverty rate from 36.1 million people -- or
16.7 percent of the population -- in 2004 to 8.2 percent in 2009,
with intermediate levels of 15 percent this year and 13.3 percent
in 2006.
The government also plans to reduce the jobless rate from 9.5
percent of the workforce in 2003 to 6.7 percent in 2009.
Kalla said that to achieve these goals, sufficient economic
growth was required, as well as the funding for the development
programs.
The government has targeted average economic growth of 6.6
percent over the next five years, and as for the funding, it
plans to increase the tax ratio to 19 percent from the current 12
percent.
However, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie
said that even 6.6 percent growth would not be sufficient if the
country did not do more to create jobs.
"It would not be enough if every 1 percent of economic growth
only created jobs for some 200,000 people," he said, comparing
those numbers to the estimated 2.5 million people who enter the
job market in Indonesia each year.
According to data from the National Development Planning
Agency, every 1 percent of economic growth created employment for
215,000 people from 2000 to 2004. In comparison, 1 percent of
economic growth created 370,000 jobs in 1994.
Aburizal said the government wanted to boost economic growth
through investment in sectors that created lots of jobs, such as
agriculture, construction and trade and services.
Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government has reiterated its vow to improve the living
conditions of people by raising the quality of public education
and health services.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla said on Wednesday all public school
buildings and community health centers (Puskesmas) in the country
would be up to standard within three years.
"We want to reach a level where no more school buildings are
in poor condition and in danger of collapse," he said in his
opening remarks at a conference on poverty eradication and the UN
millennium development goals.
"Nor will there be any Puskesmas that are short of doctors or
medicine," the vice president said.
Minister of National Education Bambang Sudibyo said many
school buildings in the country were no longer suitable for
educational activities, and that repairing them would require Rp
5 trillion (some $520 million) over the next three years.
"We will find a solution for this financial need to meet our
commitment within the time frame," he said.
The two-day conference is being organized by the Office of the
Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare and the World Bank,
and is being attended by representatives of regional
administrations as well as non-governmental organizations.
The UN expects its member countries to achieve the eight-point
millennium development goals by 2015. These goals include
eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, providing universal
primary education, promoting gender equality and empowering
women, reducing child mortality rates and improving maternal
health.
In its medium-term development program, the government aims to
reduce the nation's poverty rate from 36.1 million people -- or
16.7 percent of the population -- in 2004 to 8.2 percent in 2009,
with intermediate levels of 15 percent this year and 13.3 percent
in 2006.
The government also plans to reduce the jobless rate from 9.5
percent of the workforce in 2003 to 6.7 percent in 2009.
Kalla said that to achieve these goals, sufficient economic
growth was required, as well as the funding for the development
programs.
The government has targeted average economic growth of 6.6
percent over the next five years, and as for the funding, it
plans to increase the tax ratio to 19 percent from the current 12
percent.
However, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie
said that even 6.6 percent growth would not be sufficient if the
country did not do more to create jobs.
"It would not be enough if every 1 percent of economic growth
only created jobs for some 200,000 people," he said, comparing
those numbers to the estimated 2.5 million people who enter the
job market in Indonesia each year.
According to data from the National Development Planning
Agency, every 1 percent of economic growth created employment for
215,000 people from 2000 to 2004. In comparison, 1 percent of
economic growth created 370,000 jobs in 1994.
Aburizal said the government wanted to boost economic growth
through investment in sectors that created lots of jobs, such as
agriculture, construction and trade and services.