By : Raihau Malosi )*
Papua is one of the areas rich in natural resources in Indonesia. This province has high-value mineral resources, abundant forest products, river resources for large power plants, as well as other potential such as extraordinary natural panoramic beauty. However, this wealth has not been able to be utilized optimally. The poverty rate in Papua is currently still quite high. This triggers a lag in various fields with other regions. Therefore, the government continues to be committed to building infrastructure and developing Papuan human resources.
The government continues to be committed to realizing reliable infrastructure development in Papua and West Papua Provinces. This aims to reduce poverty rates, reduce the cost index, and equalize infrastructure development throughout Indonesia.
To support this, the government through the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) is taking breakthrough steps in infrastructure development in a more integrated, precise, focused and synergistic manner with ministries/agencies and regional governments.
Minister of PUPR, Basuki Hadimuljono, said that improving the welfare of the Papuan people is done by opening up regional isolation and increasing access and connectivity from land and multimodal, including the construction of the Trans Papua Road with a total length of 3,462 kilometers.
Furthermore, to support human resource (HR) capacity development, the Ministry of PUPR has built 179 schools and religious services, one university and eight sports facilities in Papua. Apart from that, the Ministry of PUPR also carries out HR training for construction services involving native Papuan and West Papuan work partners.
Meanwhile, to provide more creative space for Papuan sons and daughters who are superior, creative and advanced, the PUPR Ministry is building a Papuan creative development center or Youth Creative Hub in Jayapura, Papua Province.
The central government continues to strive for various methods to create a more advanced Indonesia. The steps taken are through infrastructure development efforts, improving the licensing bureaucracy, improving the provision of health services, and so on. Papua Province is included in the main attention of the Joko Widodo government because this province is a province that requires more attention compared to other regions in Indonesia.
Acting Head of the Jayapura City Education and Teaching Service, Abdul Majid, said that his party would ensure that education and school management in Papua continued to show improvement. It is hoped that educational services for Papua’s young generation will become more advanced. Therefore, teaching staff or teachers must be able to maintain the quality of each educational unit. Technical guidance will continue to be provided to teaching staff so that the quality of education continues to improve. Apart from that, the central government is asked to continue to focus on building educational infrastructure such as schools, transportation, school assistance and teaching staff.
Currently, HR has become a keyword in facing various challenges in the dynamic world megatrend. The government views the development of Papuan human resources as a step to accelerate Papua’s development. Accelerating Papua’s development will implement development that is in line with the 2030 sustainable development (SDGs) context.
Acceleration in building infrastructure is a concrete step for the government to advance Papuan human resources. Because with these steps, Papuan human resources can manage abundant natural resources.
During President Jokowi’s administration, Papua continued to be developed, especially in the infrastructure sector. He really cares about the people of Bumi Cendrawasih and wants them to be better. Papua has a lot of potential, both natural resources and human resources, and the government wants the region to be more developed with this potential.
Papua’s infrastructure development is very good for realizing Indonesia-centricity. This country stretches from Sabang to Merauke. Development in Papua must also be carried out rapidly, because Papua is also part of Indonesia.
The government is indeed active in advancing Papua and making it a priority. Now the results are visible. There are various infrastructure developments such as the Trans Papua Road, Sentani International Airport, and Youtefa Bridge. The existence of this infrastructure facilitates transportation for Papuan civilians, so that they can move between cities smoothly.
The government also wants Papua to progress by building roads, bridges and other infrastructure. Considering that Papua’s geographical conditions are very different from other islands (it has more hills, forests and mountains), infrastructure development is the government’s priority. Its main function is to facilitate people’s mobility, so that they can carry out their activities smoothly and make their economy more advanced.
So far, transportation problems have been hampered by Papua’s natural conditions, so inevitably we have to use planes to transport goods and people. When all the infrastructure is built, the price of goods can be reduced because transportation costs are cheap. The Papuan people will be greatly helped and prosperity will increase because they are able to get competitive logistics prices and provide various conveniences in accessing public services.
)* The author is a Papuan student living in Yogyakarta
