ID :
16717
Fri, 08/22/2008 - 23:49
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https://www.oananews.org//node/16717
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Roundup: INDONESIA NOW OUT OF ECONOMIC CRISIS
Jakarta, Aug 22 (ANTARA) - Indonesia which over the past 10 years has been struggling hard to recover from a multi-dimensional crisis, is now considered by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to have come out of at least its economic crisis.
The President made the assessment in his address on the government's regional development policies at a plenary session of the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) here on Friday.
But Yudhoyno also said, although the country had recovered from its economic crisis, it was still facing many challenges in its efforts to be assured of a better future.
One of the indicators that Indonesia had come out of its economic crisis, he said, was the level of its present income per capita.
Indonesia's per capita income had increased from year to year. In 2004, the figure was US$1,186 but it rose to US$1,946 in 2007, or an increase of 64 percent in just three years' time.
The 2007 per capita income had surpassed its pre-crisis level, the president said.
Indonesia's GDP reached Rp3,957 trillion in 2007, making it one of the world's 20 largest countries in terms of GDP. " Of course, these achievements do encourage us to make further steps forward in pursuit of a better future," he said.
Another indicator Indonesia had overcome its economic crisis was the level of its average economic growth rate. It so happened that 12 of the country's 33 provinces in the first half of 2008 recorded an economic growth rate that was higher then the national figure of 6.4 percent.
"Regional economic growth is one of the yardsticks of success in national economic development," the president noted.
A few provinces, including Riau Islands, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan and Central Sulawesi, had even reached an economic growth rate of more than 8.5 percent. "This achievement is worthy of praise. I hope the provinces concerned can maintain their achievements," he said.
In terms of distribution, regional economic growth in the past four years was also encouraging. In 2002, the even distribution index stood at 0.72 and fell to 0.56 in 2007, he said.
The drop in the index suggested that economic activities in the provinces in the country had become more and more balanced.
"It is our common responsibility, at central and regional level, to maintain synergy in national development in order to be able to achieve equitability in economic conditions," he said.
Speaking about efforts to increase the country's income, the president stressed the importance of continuing the efforts to eradicate corruption. The government would never tolerate misappropriation of state budget (APBN) and regional budget (APBD) funds, he said, as the funds belonged to the public and must be used optimally to serve the people's interests and welfare.
"We must ensure that our huge state budget does not just lead to an increase in funds misappropriation and mismanagement cases, much less to corruption in the regions," he said, adding that the amount of state budget funds transferred to the regions in the revised 2008 state budget was Rp292.4 trillion or more than double the Rp129.7 trillion in 2004.
The amount of budget funds transferred and allocated by the central government to the regions accounted for 65 percent of the 2008 state budget.
The government was committed to allocating a considerable portion of the state budget to the regions as a manifestation of its resolve to implement decentralization and autonomy in a consistent and responsible way, he said.
"Indeed, the amounts of state budget allocations (for the regions) are determined in accordance with the scope of the respective regions' functions and responsibilities. The greater the responsibilities delegated to a region, the greater the amount of the budget allocation it receives," he said.
The head of state said the state budget allocations for the regions should be used to finance programs and activities that are the domain of the regional administrations concerned.
Part of the huge state budget would also be used to assist low-income people and finance poverty eradication programs. Therefore, the government needed to remind the regions that they were now expected to be spearheads of development.
Now regional admnistrations stand in the frontline to improve the people's standards of living. The huge amounts allocated to the regions required the regional administrations concerned to be competent and bear full responsibility for the proper and transparent management of the funds to improve the people's prosperity and welfare.
However, challenges were still facing Indonesia in the distribution of development funds to the regions. Development in underdeveloped areas in Indonesia needed to be accelerated in order to eliminate the disparities existing in regional conditions.
"The government has all along been aware of these disparities as there are still several underdeveloped areas in our country," he said.
The disparities had resulted in low productivity and high poverty rates in the underdeveloped areas.
"Thus, development in the underdeveloped areas must be accelerated in an effort to reduce poverty," he said.
In the National Medium-term Development Plan and the National Strategy on Acceleration of Development in Underdeveloped Areas, a total of 199 districts had been categorized as underdeveloped.
The 199 district had been declared underdeveloped based on their local economic conditions, human resources, infrastructures, financial conditions and geographic accessibility as well as characteristics.
They consisted of 179 districts in non-border areas and 20 in border areas. Of the number, 62 percent were located in the eastern parts of Indonesia, 29 percent in Sumatra island and 9 percent in Java and Bali.
Meanwhile, there were 28 regions which a few years ago were underdeveloped but were now no longer in that status. In addition, conditions in 30 other underdeveloped districts were now improving so fast that they were expected to rise above that status in 2009.
The President made the assessment in his address on the government's regional development policies at a plenary session of the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) here on Friday.
But Yudhoyno also said, although the country had recovered from its economic crisis, it was still facing many challenges in its efforts to be assured of a better future.
One of the indicators that Indonesia had come out of its economic crisis, he said, was the level of its present income per capita.
Indonesia's per capita income had increased from year to year. In 2004, the figure was US$1,186 but it rose to US$1,946 in 2007, or an increase of 64 percent in just three years' time.
The 2007 per capita income had surpassed its pre-crisis level, the president said.
Indonesia's GDP reached Rp3,957 trillion in 2007, making it one of the world's 20 largest countries in terms of GDP. " Of course, these achievements do encourage us to make further steps forward in pursuit of a better future," he said.
Another indicator Indonesia had overcome its economic crisis was the level of its average economic growth rate. It so happened that 12 of the country's 33 provinces in the first half of 2008 recorded an economic growth rate that was higher then the national figure of 6.4 percent.
"Regional economic growth is one of the yardsticks of success in national economic development," the president noted.
A few provinces, including Riau Islands, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan and Central Sulawesi, had even reached an economic growth rate of more than 8.5 percent. "This achievement is worthy of praise. I hope the provinces concerned can maintain their achievements," he said.
In terms of distribution, regional economic growth in the past four years was also encouraging. In 2002, the even distribution index stood at 0.72 and fell to 0.56 in 2007, he said.
The drop in the index suggested that economic activities in the provinces in the country had become more and more balanced.
"It is our common responsibility, at central and regional level, to maintain synergy in national development in order to be able to achieve equitability in economic conditions," he said.
Speaking about efforts to increase the country's income, the president stressed the importance of continuing the efforts to eradicate corruption. The government would never tolerate misappropriation of state budget (APBN) and regional budget (APBD) funds, he said, as the funds belonged to the public and must be used optimally to serve the people's interests and welfare.
"We must ensure that our huge state budget does not just lead to an increase in funds misappropriation and mismanagement cases, much less to corruption in the regions," he said, adding that the amount of state budget funds transferred to the regions in the revised 2008 state budget was Rp292.4 trillion or more than double the Rp129.7 trillion in 2004.
The amount of budget funds transferred and allocated by the central government to the regions accounted for 65 percent of the 2008 state budget.
The government was committed to allocating a considerable portion of the state budget to the regions as a manifestation of its resolve to implement decentralization and autonomy in a consistent and responsible way, he said.
"Indeed, the amounts of state budget allocations (for the regions) are determined in accordance with the scope of the respective regions' functions and responsibilities. The greater the responsibilities delegated to a region, the greater the amount of the budget allocation it receives," he said.
The head of state said the state budget allocations for the regions should be used to finance programs and activities that are the domain of the regional administrations concerned.
Part of the huge state budget would also be used to assist low-income people and finance poverty eradication programs. Therefore, the government needed to remind the regions that they were now expected to be spearheads of development.
Now regional admnistrations stand in the frontline to improve the people's standards of living. The huge amounts allocated to the regions required the regional administrations concerned to be competent and bear full responsibility for the proper and transparent management of the funds to improve the people's prosperity and welfare.
However, challenges were still facing Indonesia in the distribution of development funds to the regions. Development in underdeveloped areas in Indonesia needed to be accelerated in order to eliminate the disparities existing in regional conditions.
"The government has all along been aware of these disparities as there are still several underdeveloped areas in our country," he said.
The disparities had resulted in low productivity and high poverty rates in the underdeveloped areas.
"Thus, development in the underdeveloped areas must be accelerated in an effort to reduce poverty," he said.
In the National Medium-term Development Plan and the National Strategy on Acceleration of Development in Underdeveloped Areas, a total of 199 districts had been categorized as underdeveloped.
The 199 district had been declared underdeveloped based on their local economic conditions, human resources, infrastructures, financial conditions and geographic accessibility as well as characteristics.
They consisted of 179 districts in non-border areas and 20 in border areas. Of the number, 62 percent were located in the eastern parts of Indonesia, 29 percent in Sumatra island and 9 percent in Java and Bali.
Meanwhile, there were 28 regions which a few years ago were underdeveloped but were now no longer in that status. In addition, conditions in 30 other underdeveloped districts were now improving so fast that they were expected to rise above that status in 2009.
