By : Ones Yikwa )*
The government has designed a program to accelerate the development of Papua so that the area will be more advanced. The benefits of development must be felt by the people of Papua, because all this is for them. Once there is development, it will have a positive impact on the residents of Cendrawasih Earth, especially in the health and economic sectors.
The government is intensively developing Papua and many prestigious projects are being carried out. The construction of bridges, roads and other infrastructure will bring prosperity to all Papuans. They can enjoy these facilities and run their business, thanks to the support of adequate infrastructure.
Vice President (Wapres) KH Ma’ruf Amin stated that the acceleration of development in Papua must provide real change. The results must also be felt by indigenous Papuans (OAP).
In a sense, the development of Papua must really be useful and be felt by all citizens in the Cendrawasih Land. The government builds infrastructure for the smooth mobility of the people so that their activities are facilitated. With infrastructure, trips are shorter, saving time and effort.
Since a few years ago, development in Papua has been accelerating, especially in terms of infrastructure. Large buildings appeared, such as the Youtefa Bridge and Sentani International Airport.
The construction of the Trans Papua road that connects the Provinces of Papua and West Papua which stretches for more than 4,000 kilometers is President Joko Widodo’s breakthrough in bringing prosperity to the people of Papua. If there are good and smooth roads, shipping goods between regions can run smoothly and save time.
After the Trans Papua Road was established, the benefits were felt by the people. They can pass through smooth land roads and are no longer dependent on expensive air transportation. That way it will save on shipping costs. In effect, the price of goods in Papua can be reduced because shipping costs are cheap (because they are sent by land) and benefit the people.
Likewise with the construction of the Youtefa bridge. The bridge also facilitates transportation between the capital city of Jayapura and Skouw. Also a tourist destination. The existence of this beautiful red bridge can attract local and foreign tourists. This can benefit Papuans who have lodging and travel businesses.
President Jokowi stated that if the infrastructure in Papua is good, ports and roads are good, then the economy will grow faster. Because the logistics distribution for people and finished goods increases. The effect is, there will be no more poverty there, because everyone is already prosperous. Papua is no longer a neglected area, because it is always taken into account.
Poverty that has occurred in Papua is indeed a cause for concern, because there are 25% of residents belonging to the lower middle class. This is the concern of the President and he is trying to make the Papuan people prosperous. Therefore, infrastructure was built and the aim was that there would be no economic inequality between Papua and Java.
Development in the Papua region is indeed aimed at the welfare of the people. President Jokowi since his first election in the first period, in 2014, has promised to advance Indonesia, especially in the land of paradise. This promise was kept, and there are currently other projects there, such as the Sentani International Airport and the full electrification of Papua and West Papua.
The welfare of the Papuan people will also increase thanks to the electrification project. If the entire area is electrified, then people can open shops late into the night and open other businesses that certainly need electricity. There are no more areas without electricity in Indonesia, it’s not like in the middle of nowhere anymore.
Developments in the Papua region such as building projects, bridges, airports also require a large number of employees to be completed quickly. This is a good opportunity for indigenous Papuan workers to work there. If the office building is ready, then they can also become employees, as long as they meet the age requirements and minimum education.
Education is also the government’s concern for the welfare of Papua. The children there are guaranteed to go to high school and get scholarships. Both from the government and mining companies. Human resource development is also important. Do not let children drop out of school because of financial problems and the location of the school is far away.
If they have graduated from college, of course they can apply for jobs as office employees, not just unskilled laborers. Salaries are higher than usual and people’s lives automatically become more prosperous. Education is a long-term investment and programs to improve human resources can change the mindset of the people there about the importance of schools.
To accelerate Papua’s development, it will rely on 5 policy frameworks, namely the development of superior human resources, economic transformation and development, basic infrastructure development, environmental quality preservation, and governance.
With 5 policy frameworks it shows that the government is really serious in developing Papua. The goal of accelerating development is to make progress evenly distributed throughout Indonesia.
Infrastructure development in Papua is a step taken by the government to improve the welfare of the people there. With development, all the people of Papua can prosper and there will be no more economic inequality in the eastern and western regions of Indonesia.
)* The author is a Papuan student living in Makassar