Home Affairs Minister Ensures Post-Disaster Displaced Persons in West Sumatra No Longer in Tents
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian has ensured that all residents affected by the disaster in West Sumatra have left evacuation tents for alternative housing as of 24 March 2026.
“Alhamdulillah, according to our data, we have cross-checked through the regents and also on the ground, there are no longer any in tents as of 24 March,” said Tito at the Bina Graha Building, Presidential Palace Complex, Jakarta, on Wednesday.
Tito explained that the Task Force for Accelerating Post-Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction in Sumatra previously conducted in-depth verification of data on affected residents.
Based on data as of 12 March 2026, there were 18,630 households or around 105,447 people in evacuation sites in West Sumatra.
The former National Police Chief also clarified circulating rumours regarding the number of displaced persons that had been said to reach 2.1 million people.
He emphasised that active coordination with local governments and field checks were carried out to ensure aid was targeted appropriately and residents quickly received decent housing.
In efforts to accelerate economic recovery and housing, the central government has rolled out various financial aid schemes for affected families. These schemes include Rp15 million for minor damage repairs and Rp30 million for moderate damage. For permanent housing construction aid, it will be Rp60 million.
In addition, the government is providing livelihood guarantees in the form of Rp15,000 per person per day for side dishes, allocated for a three-month period.
For long-term handling, Tito added that the master plan for rehabilitation and reconstruction in the Sumatra region requires significant funding.
“In the Task Force, there is already a master plan for development in these three provinces over three years, as far as I know, the preliminary estimate is around Rp130 trillion,” revealed Tito.
He emphasised that the construction of People’s Schools is part of President Prabowo Subianto’s priority programme to build superior human resources.
Qodari explained that the government plans to expand the target to 60,000 educational units under this revitalisation scheme. The Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education has proposed an additional budget of Rp89.5 trillion through the 2026 supplementary spending mechanism.
“With the continuation of the PHTC School Revitalisation and People’s School Construction Phase II, it shows there is no reduction in the education budget. On the contrary, this proves that the education sector budget is being further strengthened,” said Qodari.