Govt unveils five-year development plans
Govt unveils five-year development plans
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
The government has issued a regulation on the country's five-year
development plans, with pledges made by President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla during their
presidential election campaigns being used as the basis for the
plans.
State Minister of National Development Planning Sri Mulyani
Indrawati said Government Regulation No. 7/2005 would serve as
official guidance for the development of the country in the next
five years.
"The regulation is a translation of the vision and mission
stated by the President and the vice president during their
campaign," she said at the State Palace on Wednesday.
"Based on Law No. 25/2004 on the National Planning System, a
new government should have come up with its five-year development
plan after three months in power, in order to have a clear target
and vision," she said.
Susilo and Kalla's first 100 days in power will end on Friday.
However, the much-awaited settlement of three high-profile cases
-- Cemex SA against state-owned PT Semen Gresik, Karaha Bodas
Company (KBC) and a row between state oil and gas firms Pertamina
and ExxonMobil over the Cepu gas and oil field -- within Susilo's
first 100 days in office are nowhere near completion.
Making the cases a priority would improve the nation's
investment climate.
According to Mulyani, the development plans would aim to make
Indonesia more secure and peaceful, more just and democratic and
more prosperous.
The targets would eventually be divided into smaller concrete
actions.
"There are quantitative and qualitative targets set out in the
plans, which the public can assess at the end of the present
government's term in 2009," Mulyani said.
However, she refused to elaborate.
Susilo has repeatedly said that his administration's main
economic target in the long run would be to create a stable and
strong economic environment, increase national economic output
and boost the public's purchasing power.
These goals could only be achieved by providing adequate
infrastructure, revitalizing local economies, focusing on
agriculture and manufacturing, strengthening small and medium
enterprises, and ensuring legal certainty for businesses.
In addition, Susilo has pledged to maintain fiscal and
monetary stability, as well as reforming the tax system.
More specifically, the five-year targets include achieving an
economic growth of 7.6 percent in 2009 compared to last year's
4.8 percent, an unemployment rate of 5.1 percent in 2009 as
opposed to 10.1 percent in 2004 and a poverty level of 8.7
percent from last year's 17.54 percent.
Income per capita would also be boosted to US$1,731 in 2009
from $968 last year.
Investment is targeted to contribute around 30 percent of the
total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2009, up from last year's
16.7 percent.
As noble as these targets may be, however, they will only
remain promises if Susilo fails to deliver.