By: Rebecca Marian )*
Papua is the easternmost region of Indonesia. Even though it is located very far from Jakarta, the government is very concerned about Bumi Cendrawasih. In Papua, various infrastructures were built, such as Sentani International Airport and Trans Papua Road. Because there must be justice and equitable development, between western and eastern Indonesia.
The government is trying to close the gap between Java and Papua. Because Cendrawasih Earth is part of Indonesia too. So it is very natural that there is an acceleration of development in Papua. So that there is infrastructure that will support the smooth life of the people. It will also promote civilians in Papua.
A vital development in Papua is in terms of transportation. Because so far there have relied heavily on airplanes or helicopters, because the nature is still full of forests and mountains. But the minus is that the price of finished goods is very expensive, for example 1 liter of gasoline can be more than 200,000 rupiah. Because they have to be transported by plane.
To solve this problem, the government facilitates transportation by building the Trans Papua Road. On this road that stretches more than 4,000 KM, trucks and pickup trucks can slide smoothly. So that the transportation of goods is carried out by land, no longer by air. The price of goods will decrease because transportation costs also fall.
In addition, since the existence of the Trans Papua Road, it has facilitated the rate of population. In the past, they had to pass in the forest and it took more than 3 days, since this road existed, it only took one night. They can go to other cities to trade or find medical facilities, quickly.
Development in Papua does not only focus on infrastructure, but also in other fields such as human resource development and utilization of natural resources. Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Mahfud MD stated that the development of Cendrawasih Earth will be carried out holistically. In that sense, the desk assignments of several ministries and institutions will be combined so that development will be faster.
According to the minister who comes from Salt Island, development in Papua will be carried out for the next 5 years. The government has 5 agendas to advance the Earth of Cenderawasih. Namely human resource development, utilization of natural resources for economic transformation, infrastructure development, and acceleration and reform of the bureaucracy.
Human resource development is important because it is hoped that the sons of Papua can develop their own territory. They will be given the opportunity to study up to university with scholarships from the government, through the special autonomy program. So the scholars will devote themselves to their villages and teach knowledge to Papuan children.
Natural resource development has also become a focus for advancing Papua. Sago is not only processed in the traditional way and is cooked into papeda. However, it is hoped that it can be made into good quality flour, so that it can be exported and developed the farmers. There are still many natural resources there that can be processed, such as Australian banana and breadfruit.
The bureaucracy will also be improved in Papua, to facilitate licensing. So residents will have no trouble making ID cards, taking care of business legality, and so on. Because the old bureaucracy shortened the flow, so managing important papers was easy and quick to finish. Residents will be happy because they have the documents and permits, and prevent ASN from potential KKN.
Development in Papua that is comprehensive, starting from infrastructure, natural resources, human resources, to the bureaucracy, is expected to be able to advance the Earth of Paradise. Because there has a lot of potential which is a pity to just pass up. The government is building Papua, because it is an important part of Indonesia. There is no such thing as turning her back on, because all the islands in this country were built.
)* The author is a Papuan student living in Jakarta