Job seekers urged to be entrepreneurs

Job seekers urged to be entrepreneurs

JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of thousands of unemployed workers are
being urged by Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief to hone their
enterprising spirit by becoming small-scale entrepreneurs.

"We encourage laid-off workers from this sector to go back to
their villages and start a small-scale business with the Kuskesra
funding scheme," Latief said.

Speaking to reporters after meeting with President Soeharto
yesterday, Latief said he would discuss the idea with Minister of
Cooperatives and Small Enterprises Subiakto Tjakrawerdaya.

Latief was referring to the government-sponsored Kredit Usaha
Kesejahteraan Rakyat (People's Prosperity Business Credit), which
is part of the government's poverty alleviation program to help
poor families across the country.

Latief also said he had reported to Soeharto that the Rp 33
billion labor-intensive public works project, designed to employ
about 3.9 million unskilled workers until March, begun last week
and is proceeding well.

Latief said Soeharto had also ordered governors throughout the
country to give street vendors space to sell their goods.
(prb/aan)