Vice President Asks NTT Governor Victor B Laiskodat to Work Hard, There Are 5 Regencies That Are in the Extreme Poverty Category

JAKARTA - Indonesian Vice President KH Ma'ruf Amin asked the Governor of NTT Victor B Laiskodat to work hard to ensure that all extreme poor households in the area receive all government programs.

"Whether it's a program to reduce the burden of spending or an empowerment program," said the Vice President after chairing a limited meeting with a number of ministers and regional heads in NTT at the NTT Governor's House Hall on El Tari street Kupang, reported by Antara, Sunday, October 17.

In addition to Governor Laiskodat, the Vice President also asked the regents in the five regencies in the 2021 priority areas in NTT to work hard in handling extreme poverty in their respective regions.

The vice president also urged the governors and regents to strengthen the planning and budgeting of extreme poverty reduction programs in their respective APBD, especially those that are in accordance with the characteristics of extreme poverty in their respective regions.

The vice president also said that on average there were many ideas related to poverty reduction in accordance with the characteristics of NTT.

In particular, the Vice President said that in the remaining three months of 2021, additional special cash assistance would be prepared for extreme poor households in five priority districts in NTT using the data now available.

The five regencies are East Sumba Regency, South Central Timor (TTS), Rote Ndao Regency, Central Sumba Regency, and East Manggarai Regency.

"For this 2021 special program, the government will use existing programs, namely the Basic Food Program and BLT-Desa to provide additional support for extreme poor groups in five priority districts," he said.

On this occasion, the Vice President emphasized that the budget is not the main problem in efforts to reduce extreme poverty, because the budget of ministries and institutions as well as local governments is sufficient.

But the challenge, according to the Vice President, is how the program converges and is integrated with the targets set by the government.

"Convergence is a major factor in extreme poverty reduction to ensure that all extreme poverty reduction programs starting from the planning stage, determining budget allocations, setting targets, and implementing programs are focused on the same locus both regionally and with the right community targets," said Vice President Ma'ruf Amin.