Yogyakarta Poverty Rate Fell To 6.62 Percent In 2022

Photo Archives. Officers handed over government assistance to the poor in Yogyakarta, Tuesday (12/5/2020). (ANTARA)

YOGYAKARTA - The poverty rate for the population in the city of Yogyakarta during 2022 fell to 6.62 percent from 7.69 percent in 2021. This decline was due to the poverty reduction strategy implemented by the government. "We should be grateful because the poverty rate in 2022 will be significantly reduced. This is one of the most extraordinary things," said Yogyakarta City Regional Secretary Aman Yuriadijaya after the Coordination Meeting for Development Control for the fourth quarter of 2022 in Yogyakarta, Antara, Friday, January 27. According to him, the reduction in the poverty rate by 1.07 percent during 2022 shows that intervention programs to overcome poverty run by the Yogyakarta City Government are appropriate. "Of course, the intervention strategy that we will carry out in 2022 will continue in 2023," he said. He emphasized the importance of data accuracy in the preparation and implementation of poverty reduction programs that are right on target and in accordance with the needs of the poor. In 2022, the Yogyakarta City Government has completed data collection on the poor who will be designated as the target family for social protection security (KSJPS). The city government used data from 17,451 families designated as KSJPS in implementing poverty reduction programs. Aman explained that the poverty reduction program was not only managed by one regional apparatus organization (OPD), but was a joint work of various OPDs, so the budget was spread across various organizations. Meanwhile, Head of the Yogyakarta City Regional Development Planning Agency (Bappeda) Agus Tri Haryono said the poverty rate in Yogyakarta City at the end of 2022 was lower than the initial target set at 7.1 percent. The poverty rate in the city of Yogyakarta, according to him, is also below the average poverty rate in the Special Region of Yogyakarta, which is currently 11.34 percent and the national poverty rate is 9.54 percent. Throughout 2022, the total budget allocated by the government for poverty reduction efforts in the city of Yogyakarta will reach around Rp. 204 billion, sourced from the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget, Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBD) of Yogyakarta City and DIY Province, as well as other sources. The realization of the budget for poverty reduction efforts in the city of Yogyakarta was recorded at IDR 192 billion during 2022. In order for the poverty alleviation program to be more targeted, the Yogyakarta City Bappeda prepares priority locations for handling sub-district-based poverty, which are divided into five fields, namely consumption or expenditure, employment, education, health, basic infrastructure, and food security. "The Yogyakarta City Poverty Reduction Team is also preparing a work plan for poverty reduction," said Agus. Meanwhile, Acting Mayor of Yogyakarta Sumadi said that the performance of the Yogyakarta City Government in 2022 was quite good. According to him, during that period the physical performance achievement reached 99.8 percent while the financial performance achievement was 89 percent. "The physical performance achievement of Yogyakarta City is the highest in Yogyakarta, but financial performance still needs to be improved so that there are not many deviations. The goal is also for the benefit of the welfare of the community," he said.