Urban poor 'left out' of poverty programs

Urban poor 'left out' of poverty programs

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Settlement and Regional Development
Erna Witoelar lamented on Thursday that poverty alleviation
programs in the country continued to overlook the urban poor.

"Most government programs, such as micro-credit schemes and
other aid programs, are focused on rural areas and seem to ignore
the urban areas," she said.

Speaking during a high-level discussion forum on poverty
alleviation on Thursday, Erna appealed for greater consideration
for residents of urban slums.

The discussion brought together government officials,
executives from the Asian Development Bank, non-governmental
organizations and experts to formulate and integrate a common
policy for poverty alleviation.

The region-wide economic contagion which first struck
Indonesia in 1997 has doubled the number of poor in the country.

The most recent statistics showed that by 1998, there were an
estimated 37.5 million poor, or about 17.5 percent of the total
population.

The Asian Development Bank's poverty assessment reported that
almost 70 percent of the poor lived in rural areas.

Although the focus on rural assistance may appear justified,
Erna stressed that programs in urban areas have proven
insufficient.

Much of the assistance also failed to properly address the
needs of the urban poor.

"For example, one donor agency had a program for clean water
and sanitation. The end result was that the people had toilets
which were much better than their homes."

She said the government's policy of providing low-cost housing
was another well-intentioned program but which ultimately missed
its main goal of assisting the needy.

Erna said the houses were built too far from the work places
of most of the people and they remained costly.

"These people cannot afford the housing and the sites are
located too deep in the suburbs. The people end up having to
spend more money for transportation to their work place."

She said most of the successful programs to alleviate poverty
were in rural areas, but more consideration should be accorded
the urban poor.

"I think it's about time we consider more urban areas," she
said. (04)