Jakarta, May 30 (Antara) - The Indonesian government is concentrating
on developing the border areas to advance physical development, increase
economic activities, empower local people and improve their welfare in
areas which share their borders with neighboring countries.
For this purpose, the central government has allocated a budget of Rp16
trillion to build and strengthen border regions this year.
"The
government will focus on building and strengthening border regions in
2015," Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo said in Manado, North Sulawesi,
Friday.
The budget will be focused on the development of infrastructure,
military and police defense, and other facilities, he noted. As a
result, border regions will become the base and gateway of economic
growth in the country.
"Previously, we built border areas for four years. Unfortunately, it
was developed only 16 percent," Kumolo remarked. There are a total of
187 sub-districts in the border regions of Aceh, Papua and East Nusa
Tenggara, he pointed out.
The minister told the press that the development of border areas constituted a key to advancing Indonesia.
"President Joko Widodo is giving special attention to the preservation
of regional integrity, the upholding of state sovereignty, the
maintenance of national security and defense, the utilization of natural
resources and the execution of equitable development," Kumulo added.
The minister said that the president also gave attention to efforts to
improve the competitiveness of people in the border areas so that they
could balance the economic and social activities of people in their
neighboring countries. The same attention also goes to infrastructure
development.
"The implementation and dimension of development in the border areas
which cover 187 sub-districts in 65 districts becomes the main focus of
national development in 2015," the minister said.
He said that the conditions of a number of border areas in the country
need serious attention because they lack infrastructure.
"President
Joko Widodo's Nawacita (a Sanskrit term for nine national priority
programs) concept is to develop Indonesia from the border while
strengthening the remote areas and villages and developing border
regions," he said.
On the infrastructure, the government, through the Public Works and
Public Housing Ministry (PUPR), will focus on three sectors which are
closely related to facilities which will boost economic activities and
improve the prosperity of people living in the border regions.
"There are three points in the infrastructure that will be developed by
the PUPR in the border areas," Hermanto Dardak, the head of the
regional infrastructure development of the PUPR, said in a written
statement made available to Antara Saturday.
The three points are to develop growth centers in the border areas,
construct roads that will link the growth centers and to build cross
border cities. These three points of development are expected to
significantly galvanize economic activities and improve the local
people's living standard, he said.
The challenge that will be resolved in carrying out the three-point
development is to remove disparities which are still high among regions,
particularly between border areas in Indonesian western regions and
those in the eastern ones.
According to Home Minister Kumolo, nearly 60 percent of the locations
of the 187 districts still do not have healthcare centers, schools or
markets, as a result of which the economies of the regions cannot grow
properly.
"In Sangihe (the Sangihe Islands District), the agreement between
Indonesia and the Philippines still follows the 1974 decision. People
crossing the border into either Indonesia or the Philippines will be
charged a maximum of US$150 dollars. It is not relevant," the minister
stated.
Earlier, Coordinating Minister for Political, Law and Security Affairs
Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno hailed the efforts of the Great Indonesia Creation
House (PKIH) to develop the border areas because it was in line with
the programs of the Office of the Coordinating Minister for Political,
Law and Security Affairs and other programs of relevant ministries.
"There are 27 ministries and government agencies which hold the budget
to handle the development of the border regions but up to now the
programs have yet to become effective, despite the fact that the
National Agency for Border Area Management (BNPP) has been established
under the auspices of Coordinating Minister for Political, Law and
Security Affairs," Minister Purdijatno said after receiving the chairman
of the RKIH, Kris Budhihardjo early this month.
President Joko Widodo had said that the budget for the development of
border areas is given to ministries and state agencies which directly
handle the border areas so that the efforts would produce a clear
result.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration
Marwan Jafar said that his ministry would also focus its transmigration
program on placing transmigrants in the border areas.
"We
have the target to resettle four million transmigrants this year,"
Minster Jafar said. The transmigrants will be resettled in 144 locations
in the border areas.***3***
(T.A014/INE)
EDITED BY INE
(H-YH)
(T.A014/A/BESSR/A/Yosep) 30-05-2015 21:56 |
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