Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Jakarta acting governor Heru Budi Hartono sought advice from the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) and Home Affairs Ministry regarding the arrival of newcomers to the capital city, generally occurring after Eid al-Fitr.

He explained that the newcomers might bring a burden to the provincial authority, as public services must be extended to them while they have no permanent accommodation or job in Jakarta upon arrival.

"I appeal for assistance from the Bappenas and the (Home Affairs Ministry's) directorate general because this is the burden faced by the Jakarta authority, and despite some of our officials being reluctant to convey it, this is the reality," Hartono stated here, Monday (April 10).

He affirmed that while it is easy for newcomers to move to Jakarta, it inadvertently brought a burden of Rp17.1 trillion (US$1.14 billion) to the province's budget for serving low-income residents.

If the issue could not be addressed, Jakarta would struggle to grow as a global city to support the capital relocation to Nusantara City in East Kalimantan, he cautioned.

"We might fail to be a global city, as we are afraid that when (the capital) is already in Nusantara City, Jakarta will be left behind with the present population regulation," he explained.

Hartono said that the provincial authority is focusing on the six priority issues to support the planning and development of a global city to realize his administration's tagline, "Jakarta's Success for Indonesia."

Apart from handling traffic congestion, Jakarta's development plan priority in 2024 will be consistent with the handling of national priority issues on flood prevention, recovery from economic stagnation, poverty eradication, stunting eradication, and improvement in democratic values.

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Translator: Siti Nurhaliza, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Sri Haryati
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