Solo Pilkada Debate: Just Like Jokowi, Gibran Talks About MSMEs In Toll Rest Areas, Challenger Bajo Strengthens Connectivity

SOLO - The pair of candidates for mayor and vice mayor of Solo, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, talked about the strengthening of MSMEs which are now beginning to be seen in the toll rest area. Just like his father, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), Gibran saw local potential to be able to compete with foreign brands.

"Of course, Solo is very benefited from the large number of national scale developments. For example, toll roads can be shortened, automatic delivery time can be reduced which will have an effect on production costs. This will be easier for Solo to attract investors," said Gibran in the Solo Pilkada debate. Thursday, December 3.

After that, Gibran talked about the rest area on the Trans Java toll road. UMKM, according to the candidate for mayor who is paired with Teguh Prakosa, has prioritized UMKM.

"We see that in the rest area, UMKM, UMKM are prioritized. So our MSMEs can compete with foreign brands. Then the one who benefits the most from this Trans Java toll road is the tourism sector. With the distance that is now shortened from Surabaya to Solo in less than 3 hours, Semarang-Solo in less than 1 hour, this really encourages Solo tourism, ”said Gibran.

The increase in tourist visits in the city of Surakarta, continued Gibran, automatically has a positive effect on the occupancy rate of hotels including restaurants. Of course this has an impact on increasing Solo regional revenue (PAD).

"But the key is that tourism must tighten health protocols and with national development, Solo City must beautify tourist destinations. We don't want local tourists to be disappointed with Solo City tourism," added Gibran.

Meanwhile, Gibran's challenger from the independent route in the Solo Pilkada, Bagyo Wahyono-FX Supardjo (Bajo) talked about Solo connectivity with the surrounding area, province and national scale. The key, said Bajo, is a transparent and accountable program.

"Taking approaches. Through technocracy, we use the Solo city approach (classification) Grade A, B, C, both participatory approaches. This means that we will do it with the head of the department, we will discuss with the head of the department how the development is going, ”said Surakarta deputy walkot candidate Supardjo.

There is also a top-down pattern, namely ensuring uniformity of regulations and technical guidelines regarding Solo relations with other regions. Later on, regulations related to strengthening regional connectivity will be integrated with provincial and national programs.