Poor People In Pamekasan Claimed To Drop, Increasing During The COVID-19 Pandemic

PAMEKASAN - The Government of Pamekasan Regency, East Java Province stated that the percentage of poor people has now fallen 4.6 percent from the previous 16.7 percent, now to 13.8 percent thanks to integrated programs carried out by the government, both central, provincial, and district. "When I was newly appointed as Regent of Pamekasan in 2018, the percentage of poor people in Pamekasan Regency was recorded at 16.7 percent," said the Regent of Pamekasan, quoted by ANTARA, Wednesday, April 5. The population of Pamekasan Regency in September 2020 from the results of SP2020 was 850,057 people. The regent said that after that, it fell to 14.5 percent. However, the percentage of poverty increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, namely to 15.9 percent and an increase in the poverty rate occurred in all regions in Indonesia. "Now this is down again to 13.8 percent, and we hope that it will continue to decline, up to zero percent," he said, explaining. Badrut Tamam Regent said, the decline in the percentage of poverty in Pamekasan from the previous 16.7 percent and now to 13.8 percent of it, thanks to several programs run by Pamekasan Regency Government. Among them, the formation of ten thousand new entrepreneurs or the abbreviated 'Blue Hand Palms' and government intervention in helping micro business actors advance their business through various types of training. "In addition to the development for business actors and business capital assistance with low interest rates, the Pamekasan Regency Government also cooperates with the National Zakat Agency (Baznas) Pamekasan in the form of the people's business credit program. in the form of productive zakat.

Zakat collected in Baznas is distributed to business actors, with the hope that it can be used to develop their business. "Therefore, we are very happy, when the Provincial Government together with the East Java Baznas also made programs like that and helped micro-business actors in the form of business capital from the proceeds from raising zakat, infaq and alms from the institution," he said.