Tycoons donate Rp 415b to the poor

JAKARTA (JP): The Jimbaran Group of business tycoons has contributed Rp 415 billion (US$180 million) toward the government's drive to eradicate poverty, the Office of the State Minister of Population said Tuesday.

The money was collected from tycoons who formed the group during a meeting at the Jimbaran beach resort on Bali in 1995. There they pledged to participate in the government's poverty- eradication program.

The money would be used to fund the government's Family Prosperity Economic Movement, State Minister of Population Haryono Suyono said in a seminar.

The movement is an essential means to improve the livelihoods of families by making them more self-reliant and capable of meeting their spiritual and material needs alone, Haryono said.

Launched in 1995 by President Soeharto, the movement is aimed at encouraging people to save money.

The program is managed by the National Family Planning Board which is chaired by Haryono. The money is made available to the poor as loans to help them start up small businesses.

The money is channeled to poor people through a savings scheme called Tabungan Keluarga Sejahtera (Takesra). Each participant is given Rp 20,000 a month, of which Rp 2,000 must be put into a savings account. The rest can be used as capital to start a business.

"Savings awareness is the first step in improving the situation of extremely poor families in remote villages," Haryono said.

The government estimated that some 11.5 million people qualify for the scheme.

Haryono said the people eligible for the assistance are those living in impoverished areas which do not receive government assistance under the least-developed villages aid program.

The government is to appoint nine more banks to channel the money to the needy. It is currently done exclusively by Bank BNI 46. (12)