Ministry focuses on irrigation, rural roads
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
More than 80 percent of rural infrastructure projects -- to be financed by the low-income assistance fund derived from slashing the fuel subsidy -- will be concentrated on the construction of roads and irrigation channels.
"Most of the Rp 3.342 trillion (US$356.48 million) fund for the poor allocated through the Ministry of Public Works will go on the development of roads and irrigation, while another Rp 500 billion will be allocated for clean water projects," Minister Djoko Kirmanto said on Tuesday.
The government had promised it would redirect Rp 17.8 trillion of the money it saved from slashing the fuel subsidy into programs aimed at assisting the poor, including the disbursement of Rp 3.342 trillion for infrastructure projects in around 11,000 poor villages.
Apart from the rural infrastructure projects, the low-income assistance funds will be allocated for an education program, the purchase of subsidized rice for the poor and health programs.
The decision to prioritize road development stemmed from the fact that over 73 percent of villagers living in underdeveloped rural areas have to travel between six and 10 kilometers in unfavorable road conditions to market their crops, Djoko said.
Data from the ministry shows that there are 14.6 million poor people living in rural areas. Meanwhile, it has classified around 10,600 villages and 199 regencies as underdeveloped.
Other planned rural infrastructure projects are the development of irrigation channels to provide adequate water supply for low-income farmers' properties and the development of clean water projects.
"Poor villagers that own only an average of half a hectare of land must have a sufficient water supply to guarantee that they can harvest twice a year," said the minister.
The Rp 3.342 trillion fund will be disbursed among 419 regencies in 32 provinces throughout the country. "A village would receive an average of between Rp 200 million and Rp 300 million," Djoko said.
However, tsunami-devastated Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province would not be on the list, the minister said. The government plans to start the reconstruction phase in Aceh and parts of North Sumatra on March 26. The cost is expected to reach up to Rp 10 trillion for this year alone and Rp 45 trillion over the next five years.
According to data from the ministry, 141 regencies in the eastern part of Indonesia will receive 39 percent of the fund; 167 in the central part of the country, 33 percent; 111 in the western part, 20 percent; while 8 percent would be allocated for other things, including management consultancy and operational costs.
Djoko added that the fund would not be disbursed without the approval of the House of Representatives as it would be added to the 2005 state budget. However, the ministry would go ahead with planning the program, he said.
As reported in its draft, the government plans to set up a coordinating team consisting of the ministry of public works, the ministry of finance, the ministry of agriculture, the ministry of manpower and other related institutions. The team will coordinate task forces at a regional level.
"We will provide the program, while the fund will go directly to the regencies," Djoko said, adding that his ministry would impose strict sanctions if the fund did not reach its targets in the process. "We would also set up a coordinating team to receive reports or complaints (over the projects)," he said. (003)