Indonesian government continually places Papua as the main priority of development because building Papua means building Indonesia. Since the issue of Presidential Instruction Number 9 of 2017, the Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas has facilitated and coordinated the implementation of welfare development in Papua. With the release of affirmative policy for Papua 2020-2024, the development on this Cendrawasih Island hopefully gets more integrated with the help of the Integrated Coordination Team for the Acceleration of Development in Papua. Now, let’s learn more about the main focuses of the development in Papua and West Papua by Bappenas. The focuses include human development, a better economy, food energy, water resources, and national security.
5 National Priorities
Minister of National Development Planning/Head of Bappenas for the 2016-2019 period, Bambang PS Brodjonegoro, stated in RKP 2019, the government declared 5 National Priorities and 24 Priority Programs. The five main focuses of the development in Papua and West Papua by Bappenas consist of:
- Human development by decreasing the number of poverty and improving basic services.
- Reducing the gap between regions through strengthening connectivity and maritime affairs.
- Increasing economic values and creating job opportunities through agriculture, industry, tourism, and other productive services.
- Better food energy stabilization and water resources.
- National security stability and election success.
Five Priority Programs
In National Priorities of reducing the gap between regions through strengthening connectivity and maritime affairs, Bambang stated that five Priority Programs will be focused on. The five programs mentioned are the connectivity increase and Information and communication technology, Papua and West Papua development acceleration for underdeveloped areas and small villages, natural disaster control, and the increase of logistic system.
The five programs mentioned, according to Bambang, are the effort to resolve several issues in the aspect of reducing regions’ gaps. To reduce the gap, some strategies needed are by building better connectivity and maritime just like the connectivity development which has not been spread evenly and national logistic network to support leading sectors.
The logistic costs are still high in areas with difficult accessibility including Papua and West Papua. The accessibility in underdeveloped regions and borders to the growth center, health service, and education are still low. The apparatus readiness and also the society when it comes to natural disaster is still lack. Agricultural and fishery logistics system facilities and infrastructure are less than enough.
Three Other Priority Activities
Moreover, Bambang, who is also known as a development economy expert, for the development acceleration’s priority program will be focused on the increase of health service access and quality as well as the growth of contextual Papuan educational service’s access and quality.
Bambang added three other main focuses of the development in Papua and West Papua by Bappenas. They are leading commodity development and tourism, the development of basic infrastructures, Information, and communication technology, and the connectivity cross provinces, cities, districts, and villages as well as the growth of governance and institutions.
In RKP 2019, the government set macro development goals in economic growth, poverty level, human resources success, and unemployment rate. RKP 2019 also focuses on optimizing all resources (government, private, and banking) to achieve national development goals and targets.
3 Challenges to Papua’s Acceleration Development
The current Bappenas head Suharso Monoarfa mapped three fundamental challenges in 2020-2024. The challenges are Sustainable Development Goals, environmental issues, and international concern about human rights issues.
In the national context, Papua faces the challenge of the end of the Special Autonomy Fund policy in 2022 and the need for policy integration and Ministries’ programs for Papua and West Papua. From the perspective of the regional context, Papua faces challenges of poverty and the low level of the Human Development Index. The number of poverty in Papua placed the highest poverty rank in Indonesia.
The causes are quite varied, from weak management of autonomy implementation, the economic gap in regions on the coast and in the mountains in Papua, security issues in the mountainous region, and dialogue demand with Jakarta.
To support the welfare development, supportive situation from the political situation, law, and security is needed. All the efforts to boost the welfare development hopefully fit with Inpres No. 9/2020.
Inpres No. 9/2020
Back on September 29, 2020, President Joko Widodo issued Inpres No. 9/2020. In the instructions, there are special commands to ministers, TNI, and police and state police, as well as a regional government. These apparatus should take precise, synergized, and integrated steps based on each job. The goal is, of course, to accelerate the welfare growth in Papua which cope with seven priorities areas, namely poverty rate, education, health, minimum wage, employment, achievement of SDGs, and infrastructure.
The head of Bappenas explains that the four approaches to take to implement Inpres No. 9/2020 are Welfare Approach, Political and Security Approach, Cultural Dialogue Approach, and Communication and Diplomacy Approach.
Hopefully, the main focuses of the development in Papua and West Papua by Bappenas can accelerate the economic and political growth, decrease the poverty rate, and reach better health, education, and other public services.
