Transmigration Ministry prepares priority programmes to assist NTT earthquake victims
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of Transmigration Muhammad Iftitah Sulaiman Suryanagara has said that a number of Ministry of Transmigration programmes are being designed to prioritise assistance for communities affected by the 7.7-magnitude earthquake in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).
Iftitah said the ministry has also collected donations of around Rp100 million as an initial step to help communities affected by the disaster.
“The employees donated around Rp100 million as an initial initiative. After that, we are also designing programmes that can be redirected. We will give priority scale to several matters to help our brothers and sisters in NTT,” Iftitah said in an official statement received in Jakarta on Thursday.
According to Iftitah, concern for the communities affected by the earthquake is one form of collaboration between the Ministry of Transmigration and the Ministry of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions.
Although they currently stand as two separate ministries, he assessed that the institutional separation must not sever cooperation in implementing programmes that benefit the public.
“We want that after the separation, we remain together, remain synergistic, remain collaborative. We agree that both budgets and programmes must truly provide benefits for the people,” he said.
In addition to handling the impact of the disaster, Iftitah said synergy between the two ministries is needed to ensure the sustainability of village development and transmigration areas.
He noted that the transmigration programme has formed 1,567 new villages through the development of transmigration areas.
After developing, these villages require support from local governments and the ministry responsible for village development.
“Because transmigration almost always forms villages. More than 1,500, precisely 1,567, the Ministry of Transmigration has formed new villages,” he said.
According to Iftitah, inter-ministerial collaboration is needed so that development is not interrupted due to boundaries of authority after a programme or area develops.
Programmes that have been built, he continued, need to continue providing benefits and develop into economic and social strengths for the community.
Iftitah also assessed that the momentum of the independence anniversary should be filled with real work, not just ceremonies, including by strengthening services to the public.
“The most important thing in the end is the benefit for the community,” said the Transmigration Minister.
According to him, togetherness between the Ministry of Transmigration and the Ministry of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions is needed so that village development and transmigration areas remain sustainable and the government’s presence can be felt by the community.