Poverty eradication efforts

The number of poor Indonesians has been declining each year. The Central Bureau of Statistics, using the 1996 National Social- Economic Survey as a reference, has estimated that the number of poor people in Indonesia is currently 22.5 million, which is 11.3 percent of the country's population. Of this, 12.8 million live on the islands of Java and Bali.

This declining trend notwithstanding, and despite the fact there is some uncertainty regarding the results of our efforts to elevate the position of the poor in Indonesia, our poverty eradication drive should be continued and given a multidimensional scope. Government agencies, private business and individual citizens should all be involved.

The government should also make use of taxes and subsidies as instruments for the redistribution of income and the eradication of poverty. In addition, fairer access to information should be attained while linkages between certain economic performers and the government should be reduced.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta