By : Saby Kossay )*
The massive development carried out by the government is not a figment of the imagination, real progress has made Papua more advanced and developed, this of course has received support from the people who feel that the accelerated development has had a positive impact on the community.
The large number of infrastructure built in Papua is proof that Papua is showing progress. This massive development is encouraged for the welfare of the people. The purpose of this development is none other than to realize equitable distribution of development in Indonesia.
Development carried out by the government also received support from the people of Papua. This support arises because the government continues to make efforts to accelerate development in all regions of Papua. This seriousness can be seen from drafts of various regulations, such as the Presidential regulation concerning the Steering Committee for the Acceleration of the Development of Special Autonomy in Papua (BP3OKP) and the Presidential Regulation concerning the Master Plan for the Acceleration of the Development of Special Autonomy in Papua (RIPPP).
In order to make the acceleration program successful, in addition to regulations, cooperation from many parties is also needed, including the West Papua People’s Council (MRPB), so that the legal basis that has been issued can be properly implemented in the field.
Veteran Jayawijaya figure Alex Doga expressed his support for the accelerated development carried out by the government. Alex represents all the people on Cenderawasih Earth, from youth, religious leaders, to community leaders and women who continue to express their agreement with various government programs including development in Papua.
This agreement is of course not without reason, this is because the acceleration of development promoted by the government has become a reality. Starting from the development of educational infrastructure, health and there are still many developments being carried out by the government for the progress of Papua.
Public Policy Observer, Imron Cotan sees something extraordinary with the massive infrastructure development in Papua. The infrastructure development makes the distribution chain and marketing of goods and agricultural products faster.
Imron also explained the condition of Papua in the past few decades. Where at that time the price of fuel was expensive, but now the price of fuel in Papua is the same price as fuel in Java. Previously, Medan could only be accessed by air transportation, now it can be accessed by land because of the length of the road built by the government. Like the trans-West Papua Road for example, since it was built in 2018, it has now reached 1,071 km in length. All of that is connected.
The Trans West Papua road is divided into two segments, namely, segment I Sorong-Maybrat-Manokwari (595 km) which connects two economic centers in West Papua namely the cities of Sorong and Manokwari which can now be reached in 14 hours. This acceleration of travel time certainly plays a role in accelerating the transportation of goods and public transportation by road.
President Joko Widodo has instructed a governance approach supported by an Electronic Based Government (PSBE) system and data and information based policies. Papua’s development approach must be based on a social, cultural, customary territory and ecological zone perspective.
The Presidential Instruction states that financing is charged to the APBN and APBD along with other sources of financing that are not binding in accordance with the provisions of the regulations that took effect on September 29, 2020.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public and Public Housing (PUPR) in the 2021 fiscal year is known to have allocated an infrastructure development budget for Papuas Province of up to Rp. 6.12 trillion. The budget is disbursed for the natural resources sector in the amount of Rp. 670 billion, roads and bridges worth Rp. 4.46 trillion, Rp. 650 billion for settlements and Rp. 330 for housing.
As for West Papua Province, the central government has allocated an infrastructure budget of IDR 3.67 trillion. For natural resources, Rp 600 billion, roads and bridges Rp 2.54 trillion, settlements Rp 320 billion and housing Rp 200 billion.
The PUPR Ministry also has four infrastructure programs for Papua and West Papua, namely equitable development to improve people’s welfare, affirmative support for increasing human resources (HR) for the Papuan people, implementation of the Cash Work Intensive Program (PKT) and fulfillment of needs and basic services with support PUPR infrastructure.
The government also polished two border posts in Skouw (North) and in Sota (South), built a long bridge at Youtefa Bay that connects Jayapura City with the Holtekamp area and leads to the Skouw PLBN. In the telecommunications sector, the Government is also building the East Palapa Ring telecommunications network.
With the East Palapa Ring telecommunication network, people in Papua will certainly have easy access to the internet. It is hoped that the internet network will become the foundation of all telecommunications operators and be integrated with existing networks owned by telecommunications operators.
Acceleration of development in Papua is a concrete manifestation of the government to accelerate development in Papua. The community also supports these efforts because the development that is encouraged has a positive impact on the community.
)* The author is a Papuan student living in Yogyakarta
