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)