Prabowo pushes for stronger connectivity to advance village economy

President Prabowo Subianto has asserted that Indonesia’s economic strength resides in its villages, particularly through the activities of farmers, fishermen, traders, and artisans, and that the government will therefore continue to improve inter-regional connectivity.

According to the President, the people’s economy proved to be the backbone of Indonesia during the 1998 economic crisis. At that time, many large banks closed and major companies went bankrupt, while the village economy and MSMEs remained resilient.

“We remember during the 1998 crisis, the monetary crisis, large banks closed, big companies went bankrupt. The village economy, the people’s economy, remained strong and robust. What saved us were precisely the MSMEs and the people’s economy,” President Prabowo said in a speech at the 2026 Annual Session of the MPR and the Joint Session of the DPR-DPD at the MPR/DPR Building in Jakarta on Friday.

Therefore, President Prabowo stated that inter-village connectivity is one of the crucial aspects the government must improve. This includes the construction of village bridges to ensure communities can safely access schools, markets, and various centres of economic activity.

President Prabowo explained that the government has completed the construction of 2,500 village bridges by the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) and 874 village bridges by the Indonesian National Police (Polri) throughout 2026. The government is targeting the completion of more than 5,000 village bridges by the end of the year.

The Head of State described how there are still children who must walk for hours to school, arriving wet because they have to cross rivers. Such conditions must no longer occur.

“If governors, regents, and village heads cannot resolve this, the central government will step in and address it. We will not let our people be neglected,” the President said.

In addition to bridges, the government is also building clean water points in villages. Prabowo noted that many people still have to walk for kilometres to obtain clean water for drinking, bathing, worship, and to meet the needs of livestock and agriculture. By early 2026, the government, through the TNI, had built approximately 3,000 village water points. Prabowo expressed his appreciation to the TNI for the construction of this infrastructure.