Soeharto wants provinces to be self reliant, competitive
Soeharto wants provinces to be self reliant, competitive
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto urged leaders of Indonesia's 27 provinces yesterday to strive to become more self reliant and competitive in order to face the advent of the global free trade era.
"Regional self reliance and competitive advantage are the real essences of regional autonomy," Soeharto said during a meeting at the State Palace with governors and speakers of legislative councils of all the provinces in Indonesia.
Soeharto defined self reliance as the ability to solve problems independently, and competitiveness as the drive to become the best.
"The need for greater self reliance and independence is real because we are now entering a new era: The era of global free trade and investment. This era is filled with both opportunities and challenges," he said.
The governors and legislative council speakers have been in Jakarta for the past few days for their annual briefing by central government officials on policies and objectives for the upcoming 1995-1996 fiscal year which begins on April 1.
The main theme of their meeting, one which cabinet ministers during their briefing also repeatedly emphasized, is greater regional autonomy through decentralization of the administration.
The government has been meaning to give greater autonomy to the provinces, the regencies down to the district offices, but the drive has been slow because the regional administrations are not ready to shoulder the responsibility.
Soeharto reiterated yesterday the government's commitment to greater regional autonomy which he underlined as very important to step up, expand and deepen national development.
He emphasized that greater regional autonomy is intended to encourage a greater people's participation in national development.
The government, he said, could only encourage the regions to become more self reliant and competitive up to a point. A lot depends on how the people respond to these challenges.
The President recognized that some provinces are better placed than others in facing the challenges of free trade.
"Regions that are already well prepared must continue to improve their capabilities. Regions that still have not become fully self reliant and competitive must do a lot of catching up."
The central administration will assist regions that are still trailing, paying special attention to the development of border areas, isolated regions, and of "economic growth centers", he said, adding, "We're consciously implementing the principle of a unitary state, in which one region helps another."
Indonesia, Soeharto said, needs to combine all its potentials in facing the challenges. "Only this way can we tap all the opportunities opened up by the free trade and investment system." (emb)