Ministry focuses on irrigation, rural roads

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)