Ministry Of Home Affairs: West Kalimantan Enters 10 Regions With The Highest Inflation Number

Acting Governor of West Kalimantan Harisson and a number of OPD heads carried out market operations to suppress high inflation in the province (Rendra Oxtora)

Inspector General of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Tomsi Tohir Balaw, said, based on the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) of West Kalimantan, it is included in 10 regions in Indonesia with the highest inflation rate. It takes serious effort to reduce the high inflation.

"According to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), related to the development of joint inflation in regencies and cities throughout Indonesia, which West Kalimantan Province is included in the top 10 that have experienced inflation, including West Papua, North Maluku, South Kalimantan, East Java, Yogyakarta Yogyakarta, NTT, East Kalimantan, South Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi," Tomsi said at the online weekly Regional Inflation Control Coordination Meeting, quoted by ANTARA, Monday, September 19.

The Ministry of Home Affairs asked the ten heads of regions with the highest inflation rates to carry out maximum efforts in reducing the inflation rate, for the ten provinces with the lowest inflation rate, they expressed their gratitude for their efforts to control inflation in their regions.

Furthermore, entering the third week of September 2023, the government is faced with the issue of rising prices in several food commodities as well as being a contributor to inflation so it needs to be watched out for including rice, cayenne pepper and red chilies.

"The increase in the price of cayenne pepper and red chilies is expected to be balanced with the planting movement in each region, especially areas where prices increase," he said.

As for the increase in rice prices, Bulog and the Food Agency are working hard to strengthen domestic absorption and production, strengthening government rice reserves with an importation mechanism from abroad.

In addition, to suppress the increase in rice prices, intervention was also carried out at the central level by the food agency and Bulog.

"The Regional Government is expected to cooperate with Bulog and their respective regional food task force teams so that they can monitor rice reserves and price increases in their regions and find solutions, innovations, creations to overcome the increase in rice prices so as not to burden the community," said Tomsi Tohir.

After attending the coordination meeting, PJ Governor of West Kalimantan Harisson said he would immediately follow up with what the Inspector General of the Ministry of Home Affairs said.

The West Kalimantan Provincial Government will continue to strive continuously so that West Kalimantan can leave ten provinces with the highest inflation rates. Of course synergy is needed in controlling this inflation.

"Indeed, what we are currently wary of is the increase in rice prices, and yesterday we also directly inspected Bulog's warehouse. West Kalimantan itself has a stock of 14,500 tons for needs until the end of the year," said Harisson.

Meanwhile, for optimalization steps in controlling the inflation rate in West Kalimantan, Harisson and his staff will carry out market operations in accordance with what is instructed by the Inspector General of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

"One of the steps we take to control the inflation rate is to go down directly to monitor market operations. Even if we have gone down to the market and the price still tends to rise, it means that market operations are still massive and especially for rice commodities, we will increase it again," he said.