Amri, 41, with his son Muhammad Rafli, 2, rummaging through used goods to be sold in Lampriet, Banda Aceh, Aceh, on Thursday (10/8). Amri is an example of a poor family in Aceh. The income he gains from scavenging is between Rp 30,000 (US$2.25) and Rp 50,000 a day, which is used to support his wife and two children. Aceh is a province with the largest poor population in Sumatra, making up 16.89 percent of the province’s total population of 5 million people.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The government is to launch a social safety net program to protect and lift 40 percent of the country’s poorest people. The program will be improved and expanded to make it more effective.
National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) head Bambang PS Brodjonegoro said in Jakarta on Monday (21/8) that the affirmative action for the poorest 40 percent of the population was one of the government’s priorities in achieving its 2018 development target.
The target comprises four aspects: decreasing the number of poor people, reducing open unemployment, narrowing the wealth gap and raising the human development index (HDI).
For the poorest population, the government targets to decrease its number from 27.77 million people, or 10.64 percent of the total population, as of March 2017 to 9.5-10 percent of the population in 2018. On open unemployment, the government targets to lower the number from 7.01 million people, or 5.33 percent of the workforce, as of February 2017 to 5.0-5.3 percent of the workforce in 2018.
Decreases
As an indicator of the wealth gap, it targets decreasing the Gini ratio from 0.393 as of March 2017 to 0.380 in 2018. Meanwhile, it targets increasing the HDI from 70.18 in 2016 to 71.50 in 2018.
“The focus on 40 percent of the poorest population is important because it can resolve two issues simultaneously, poverty and the wealth gap. In the context of sustainable development, we are talking about equal distribution that would drive better and inclusive economic growth,” said Bambang.
The poorest 40 percent consists of poor people and people who are vulnerable to poverty, which currently numbers 28,488,031 families or 96.71 million people. Three of the government’s existing social safety nets already target this group: the Family Hope, Healthy Indonesia and Smart Indonesia programs.
An inclusive and sustainable economic growth is the government’s working plan for 2018. In his speech on the draft 2018 state budget last week, President Joko Widodo said the 2018 state budget must serve as a fiscal instrument to drive national economic growth and equitable economic distribution. The draft budget targets economic growth of 5.4 percent.
Bambang said the government was committed to carrying out programs more aggressively in 2018. This will be realized through honing the target, increasing the budget and/or broadening its reach and heightening social empowerment programs such as the agrarian reform program.
Based on an integrated database, the Family Hope program’s coverage has been increased continuously from 3.5 million targeted families with a budget ofRp 5.6 trillion in 2015 to 10 million targeted families with aRp 17.2 trillion budget in 2018. The non-cash food assistance program targeting 44 cities with a budget of Rp 1.6 trillion this year will be expanded to 98 cities and 117 regencies with aRp 13.5 trillion budget.
Healthcare assistance provided through the Healthy Indonesia program has also been increased from 88.2 million recipients with a budget of Rp 20.3 trillion in 2015 to 92.4 million recipients and aRp 25.5 trillion budget.
Separately, Social Affairs Ministry directorate general of social security and protection Raden Harry Hikmat said the poorer the people, the more their basic needs were not met.
“Basic human needs are the basic right of all citizens. It is a basic right, so the state is responsible for fulfilling it. The government must thus prepare the system,” said Harry.
The key policy as instructed by President Joko Widodo, Harry said, was that all social assistance must be channeled in non-cash form and integrated.
Institute for Ecosoc Rights researcher Sri Palupi argued that the social safety nets were highly needed by the poor, especially under difficult economic conditions. Yet, she stressed, that was not enough. For business sustainability, Palupi said, poor people needed economic space that should not only be maintained, but also improved.
Effective distribution
Institute for Development of Economic and Finance (Indef) researcher Bhima Yudhistira Adhinegara said the allocation for affirmative policy in the 2018 state budget was relatively large, especially in its aim to raise the purchasing power of the poor. The challenge was its effectiveness.
“No more stories about the late distribution of social aid, such as the rice assistance. The transition of assistance distribution into non-cash form also needs better supervision,” he said.
Meanwhile, residents in the Maluku borderlands hope the government will speed up basic infrastructure development in order to drive the people’s economy in the regions. The main potential in borderland areas is the fisheries sector, but marketing has been a long-standing obstacle.
Frets Salaka, a community leader in Eliasa village, Selaru Island, West Maluku Tenggara regency, said the area’s waters were rich in fish and other marine products. But the fishermen find it hard to sell their catch because of the lack of roads on the island, which borders Australia. Eliasa is the southernmost village of the island’s seven villages.
Meanwhile, Nias regent Sokhiatulo Laoli in North Sumatra said he hoped the central government’s budget policy would support infrastructure development and energy supplies in the outer, underdeveloped regions. Infrastructure and energy in Nias is minimal, so that almost no industrialization has been seen in the islands west of North Sumatra.
Trenggalek regent Emil Elestianto of East Java said that in drafting the 2018 state budget, the government should not focus on tightening the budget by reducing the amount of regional funding.
“Do not cut the fund allocation for areas of critical importance, such as through delaying, reducing or canceling infrastructure projects,” Emil said.
