Poverty Alleviation Should Be Based on Condition in Each Region

Kompas/Totok Wijayanto

Crowded area in Muara Angke, Penjaringan, Jakarta, on Saturday (3/2). Based on Central Statistics Agency data, from the total 26.58 million poor people in Indonesia, about 10.27 million lived in urban areas.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The Covid-19 pandemic has made it more difficult for Indonesia to achieve quality economic growth , given the sharp increase in the number of poor people in regions with a high number of Covid-19 cases.

Meanwhile in eastern Indonesia, poverty also remains high. The problem should be resolved according to the condition of each region.

Based on data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS), the number of poor people in Indonesia reached 27.55 million people as of September, 2020, or 10.19 percent of the total population. The number increased by 1.13 million people from the figure in March 2020 or by 2.76 million people from that in September 2019.

Also read: Growth to Overcome Poverty

The poverty rate in regions with high Covid-19 cases increased by 1.2-1.6 percentage points. In September, 2020, the poverty rate in Central Java and East Java rose to 11.84 percent and 11.46 percent, respectively, while that in West Java and Jakarta increased to 8.43 percent and 4.69 percent, respectively.

The highest poverty rate was recorded in Papua with 26.8 percent, followed by West Papua with 21.7 percent and East Nusa Tenggara with 21.21 percent.

Also read: Social Assistance not Enough, Creates more Jobs!

A senior researcher at the SMERU Research Institute, Asep Suryahadi, said on Wednesday (17/2/2021) the poverty rate in eastern Indonesia, especially Papua and West Papua, had not changed much, indicating that there were structural problems, apart from the Covid-19 pandemic.

If we look at the data in the previous year, even years back, the condition hasn\'t changed much.

"The number of poor people in Papua and West Papua has nothing to do with the Covid-19 pandemic. If we look at the data in the previous year, even years back, the condition hasn\'t changed much, ”said Asep.

The lagging economic development is a structural problem in eastern Indonesia.

Asep said the poverty was related to the level of economic development and human resources (HR). To rapidly change the poverty landscape between regions, a combination of investment and human resource development is required in areas with a high number of poor people, he added.

Kompas/Ferganata Indra Riatmoko

Residents pass by a poor kampong area on the banks of the Winongo River in Pakuncen subdistrict, Wirobrajan district, Yogyakarta, on Thursday (2/2). Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) released in Jakarta on Wednesday, the Gini ratio in Yogyakarta in September 2016 was the highest in Indonesia, namely 0.425.

The director of Poverty Alleviation and Social Welfare of the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) Maliki said the government needed to work extra hard to cope with the high poverty rate in the eastern parts of Indonesia. Alleviating people from poverty must take into account regional characteristics, he added.

"Alleviating people from poverty in eastern Indonesia remains a priority because the poverty rate there remains high although the absolute number is still relatively small,” he said.

Sectoral approach

Based on BPS data as of August 2020, the highest open unemployment rate was recorded by Jakarta with 10.95 percent), followed by Banten with 10.64 percent and West Java with 10.46 percent.

Also read: Growth Map

According to data from the Manpower Ministry, as of August 2020, Jakarta and West Java were the provinces with the most workers affected by the pandemic, those that had been dismissed and laid off.

The Covid-19 epicenter region, for example, had a more severe impact than other regions so it needs different handling.

Researcher at the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef), Ahmad Heri Firdaus, said on Wednesday that the government\'s approach in dealing with the pandemic and in alleviating people from poverty could no longer be carried out in a general approach. The poverty problem should be solved through a sectoral approach based on the condition, characteristics in each region, he said. The Covid-19 epicenter region, for example, had a more severe impact than other regions so it needs different handling.

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Separately, the Director General of Worker Placement and Employment Opportunity Expansion of the Manpower Ministry , Suhartono, said job creation and the expansion of job opportunities were directed to the epicenter of the pandemic.

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

An ojol (ride-hailing motorcycle taxi) driver takes a packaged drink from a free lunch stand on Jl. Raya Jatiwaringin in East Jakarta, Thursday (2/4/2020). The residents of Waringin Permai housing complex have arranged the stand to provide free meals to ojol drivers and the poor from 26 March to 7 April 2020. The community initiative, which distributes 200 meals every day, is a show of solidarity to support the vulnerable during the Covid-19 outbreak in the capital.

Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah said 70 percent of the ministry’s budget in 2021 had been allocated for a competency improvement program that was intended to help reduce unemployment.

(This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi)