Feeling That The Local Government Is 'less Compact', The Governor Of West Sumatra Proposes A Joint Plan To Cover 10 Provincial Governments In Sumatra

Repair of Trans Sumatra Toll Road KM 310, OKI, South Sumatra, December 2021. (Antara-Nova W)

W Sumatra - Governor of West Sumatra (Sumbar) Mahyeldi revealed a strategy to accelerate development on the island of Sumatra so that it can be realized immediately.

According to him, development planning must be integrated from 10 provincial governments in the region.

"Each region in Sumatra has its own advantages and potential. If synergized, cooperated with careful and integrated planning, it will accelerate development and economic growth," said Mahyeldi in Pekanbaru, Riau, Thursday 30 June.

He said this at the Sumatran Governors' Coordination Meeting in Pekanbaru, Riau.

According to him, currently each regional government seems to be going its own way, even it seems that there is competition, such as in the case of port development.

This, he said, has the potential to hamper regional economic development and growth, and therefore needs to be addressed immediately.

This becomes increasingly important considering global developments involving superpowers, such as the US and China around the region, which, according to him, must be anticipated from the start.

"Therefore, in this coordination meeting, we propose that there should be an integrated joint planning as soon as possible. This proposal will also be a recommendation submitted to the central government because everything cannot run without central support," he said.

The host of the Sumatran Governor's Coordination Meeting, Riau Governor Syamsuar said that what was proposed by the Sumatran governor would be recorded as a document containing recommendations to the central government.

"Currently, there are Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Jhon Wempi Watipo, Expert Staff of the Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas Oktorialdi and Director General of Infrastructure Financing of the Ministry of PUPR Herry Trisaputra Zuna online. We hope that this recommendation can be immediately accepted by the center," he said.

He said several other things that were very urgent were the continuation of the construction of the Trans-Sumatra Toll Road which was voiced by almost all governors, such as the Governors of Jambi and Aceh.

In addition, what is also important is the issue of the price of palm FFB, from the farmer level to product exports.

Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Jhon Wempi Watipo said the proposals from governors throughout Sumatra were very diverse, not only covering the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Public Works and Bappenas.

Therefore, he suggested that the governors of Sumatra form a forum. Later the appointed chairman of the forum will follow up on all proposals to the center.

Present at the coordination meeting were governors, deputy governors and representatives from 10 provinces in Sumatra.