TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo hopes that the people of Papua and West Papua would be involved in developments and not just act as spectators. “I'm telling you, in executing the development in Papua, it is important take notice of human rights’ values,” Jokowi said on Tuesday, November 8, 2016.
According to Jokowi, the Papuans are the most essential subject in the development itself, so a cultural approach is also important. “Government management must also be great and free of corruption,” he said.
Infrastructure developments is one of the agenda that is being pushed by the government. Jokowi said the acceleration and connectivity of infrastructures between regions is important for an equal development. Establishing fuel prices in Papua to be the same as in the island of Java is Jokowi’s first move. The president said that the single price policy can help drop logistical expenses.
In a meeting on the evaluation of Papua’s development, he said that the funds allocated for Papua was not comparable to the government's goal to achieve the welfare increase in the region. The problem is not just the amount of fund, Jokowi said, but the planning process that implicates various sectors is not fully integrated yet.
Leader of the National Development Planning (Bappenas) Bambang Brodjonegoro said Papua’s development have been focusing to only four big regions, which are Jayapura, Merauke, Nabire, and Biak. According to him, the government should focus on remote regions as well.
ADITYA BUDIMAN
