"To reduce the number of the poor in the country we need to work hard and open up large investment opportunities with the support of the people`s economy," Minister Agung Laksono said during a Ramadhan Safari and Joint Dialogue with handicraftters in Limpung sub-district, Batang regency Sunday night.
He said in 2010 there were 31.02 million poor people in Indonesia, or 13.33 pct, and in 2011 their number dropped to 30.2 million, or 12.49 pct.
Therefore, he added, to reach the target of reduced number of poor people by 2014, the regional administrations need to contribute funding, especially in the national program of empowering self-sufficient members of the society.
He said in 2012 the government will allocate some Rp15 trillion for the program, family-based social assistance in reducing poverty.
"The SBY-Budiono administration will only provide a "bait" as motivation, and the national program will be continued until 2014," he said.
He said, the implementation of the national program has developed substantially because as a national program, the coverage of the program to had been constantly increasing each year.
In 2007, he said, the national program covered 3,349 sub-districts with 34,464 villages, and in 2008 covered 3,999 sub-district of 47,954 villages.
"In 2009 it covered 6,408 sub-districts, and in 2010 covered 6,321 sub-district. The coverage of the national program continued to increase in 2011 reaching 6,622 sub-districts with funding totaling Rp10.313 trillion," he said.
The minister said that based on the directives of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, no national program did not get direct community assistance (BLM).
"All the sub-districts need to be given BLM after adjustment with the number of the population and poverty level" he said.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
