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Papuans to wait another day for development
Jakarta Post - September 8, 2016
Beni Wetipo, 45, and Elianus Lokbere, 30, felt relieved because a 92-kilometer-long road had recently been constructed to connect Wamena, Mbua and Kenyam in Papua province.
Kompas reported on Aug. 22 that Mbua residents such as Beni and Elianus previously had to walk for five days to reach Wamena or pay Rp 600,000 (US$45.85) per person for a pioneer flight because of the lack of basic infrastructure, namely roads.
Unfortunately, the road may be the only new facility Papuans enjoy this year because the whole trans-Papua road program is now on the brink of a major overhaul as a result of state budget cuts, potentially leaving other Papuans without infrastructure for longer, unlike their fellow countrymen in the western regions.
The government has announced that it will cut spending by Rp 137 trillion this year and the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry is among the ministries that will suffer from the austerity measure.
The ministry, which is responsible for most infrastructure projects, will see as many as Rp 6.9 trillion removed from its budget, with almost half of the figure slashed from its Bina Marga Directorate General, which oversees road construction.
Of the cut within Bina Marga, 30 percent might be sourced from the total targeted development of a 4,325-km road project, which connects cities like Manokwari in West Papua province to Oksibil and Wamena in Papua.
"The road construction in West Papua might be the most affected by the move," Bina Marga Director General Hediyanto Husaini said. Data from the ministry show that it is supposed to build 207.3 km of new roads in Papua and West Papua this year and continue with an additional 176.1 km in 2017.
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has actually pledged to bring more inclusive development to Papua during his visits to the resource-rich region, including the construction of a railway, but work on it is facing delays as well.
The Transportation Ministry has pushed back the trans-Papua railway's introduction to 2017 from the original schedule of this year's first half. Transportation Ministry Director General for railways Prasetyo Boeditjahjono attributed the delay to both budget and land acquisition problems as it would see Rp 1.7 trillion cut from its budget.
The railway is planned to span a 1,550-km-long route connecting Sorong in West Papua to Jayapura in Papua. The first phase to be built is the 390-km Sorong to Manokwari track, which is expected to be completed between 2020 and 2024.
However, according to data from the Transportation Ministry, no Papua-related development has been included in its 2017 railway transportation plan.
Instead, the ministry plans to spend Rp 18 trillion next year through its directorate general for railways to build a double-track railway project in southern Java and develop both the trans-Sumatra and trans-Sulawesi railway projects.
Gadjah Mada University economist A. Tony Prasetiantono said the budget cuts would make it even more difficult to increase efficiency in Papua and to reduce commodity prices as transportation costs would remain high.
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/09/08/papuans-wait-another-day-development.html.
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