Vice President To Village Head: We Have 1 Year Left Towards Zero Percent Target Of Extreme Poverty

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin during a meeting regarding the Performance of the Elimination of Extreme Poverty in 2023 at the Vice President's Palace, Jakarta, Thursday (9/11/2023). BETWEEN/HO-BPMI Setwapres

JAKARTA - Vice President Ma'ruf Amin reminded the crucial role of Village Heads in realizing the target of zero percent extreme poverty in Indonesia by 2024.

This was conveyed by the Vice President in his direction at the National Coordination Meeting and Presentation of Fiscal Incentives for the Current Year for the Performance Category for Eliminating Extreme Poverty in 2023 at the Vice President's Palace, Jakarta, Thursday 9 November.

“We only have one year left to achieve the target of zero percent extreme poverty by 2024, or six years faster than the target of the Sustainable Development Goals. "For this reason, on this occasion I would like to again emphasize the crucial role of ladies and gentlemen as regional heads, namely in preparing programs and activities, as well as supporting regional budgets to accelerate the elimination of extreme poverty", said the Vice President.

He asked that the consistency of all regional leaders be maintained, especially in implementing strategies to reduce the burden of public expenditure, increase the sustainable income of extreme poor groups, and reduce the number of pockets of poverty.

Apart from that, the Vice President reminded that community empowerment which prioritizes aspects of growth, social justice and affordability should be a common concern.

Vice President Ma'ruf said that various concrete steps to achieve the target of eliminating extreme poverty had been implemented, including sharpening the target beneficiaries through developing data for the Targeting the Acceleration of Elimination of Extreme Poverty (P3KE).

Apart from that, program and budget convergence has also been carried out in the context of eliminating extreme poverty, including through adjustments to the State Budget, Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBD) and Village Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBDes).

“The results are starting to show. BPS noted that extreme poverty in March 2023 dropped significantly to 1.12 percent. "Our homework is to maintain this downward trend until the target can be achieved", he said.

According to the Vice President, all these efforts were only possible through the collaboration and hard work of all stakeholders. "Of course, the active performance of all Regional Heads is an absolute prerequisite for achieving the target of reducing extreme poverty", he explained.

Therefore, said the Vice President, as an appreciation, the Government is giving awards in the form of fiscal incentives to regional governments that are committed and perform well in eliminating extreme poverty.

He hopes that these incentives can be used to continue the program's transformation towards the target of eliminating extreme poverty.

The Vice President conveyed the message, first, that regional governments should maximize incentive funds to strengthen strategies for eliminating extreme poverty, especially for activities whose benefits are directly received by the community.

Second, ensuring target recipients of extreme poverty programs use P3KE data, so that interventions are more targeted. "Prioritize poor community groups with limited access, as well as elderly people and people with disabilities", he asked.

Third, intensify synergy and collaboration between ministries/institutions and regional governments, universities, the business world and industry in potential sectors.