By: Alfred Jigibalom )*
The government continues to intensify development in the Papua region. This policy is a form of the state’s presence in the prosperity of society and avoiding inequality with other regions.
What do you think about Papua? If all you have in mind is hilly areas and virgin forests, then you are very wrong. The reason is that currently Papua has become a modern region and is no less advanced than Java or other islands in Indonesia. All of this is thanks to the rapid development in Bumi Cendrawasih, especially during the administration of President Jokowi.
The government is indeed intensifying development in Papua and President Jokowi is very concerned about all residents on the Earth of Cendrawasih. The proof is that he is the president who visits Papua the most to see how far its development progresses. What is always checked is the infrastructure, especially on the Trans Papua Road, border areas, and cross-border posts.
Minister of PUPR (Public Works and Public Housing) Basuki Hadimuljono stated that President Jokowi gave the mandate to develop Papua. Therefore, the Ministry of PUPR takes steps to develop infrastructure in collaboration with Ministries, Institutions, and Local Governments.
Cooperation is very important for smooth development. The proof is that through collaboration, several infrastructures have been built successfully, such as the Youtefa Bridge, Sentani International Airport, Trans Papua Road, etc. Infrastructure in the transportation sector is indeed important because it facilitates mobility and makes the Papuan people prosperous.
There will be a positive domino effect when the Trans Papua Road is 100% complete. People can drive quickly without getting tired of having to pass through the footpath. They also reduce dependence on airplane transportation which is very expensive. So that driving costs are cheaper and shipping costs can be reduced, and the effect is that the price of goods in Papua is cheaper.
The government also held a Master Plan for the Acceleration of Development for Papua (RIPPP) which was held together with stakeholders in the Earth of Cendrawasih. The meeting held in Jayapura lasted 4 days. This development plan is valid for 2022 to 2041. Indeed, this project is carried out in the long term because it is not possible to develop and prosper Papua in the next 1-2 years.
Oktorialdi, Expert Staff to the Minister of National Development Planning/Bappenas (National Development Planning/National Development Planning Agency), stated that the intensive meeting for the preparation of the RIPPP was aimed at exploring various inputs regarding the direction of development in Papua, within the framework of special autonomy for the next 20 years.
Oktorialdi continued, in compiling the RIPPP, several parties were invited, such as stakeholders from various regions, stakeholders in Papua, the private sector, women’s leaders, traditional and religious leaders, and youth. They can provide various suggestions so that the RIPP will be more perfect and as a result Papua will be more advanced.
If there are various inputs, then the RIPPP is ready to be compiled and implemented so that Papua will progress more. Moreover, the Special Autonomy Fund in 2022 is also getting bigger, which is 12.8 trillion rupiah. So a mature development plan is needed so that 100% of that amount of money is absorbed for the benefit of the people and for the increasingly massive development of Papua. That way, the Earth of Cendrawasih will be more advanced and there will be no inequality with Java.
The government continues to maximize various developments in Papua. Therefore, community support is needed so that the development process can run smoothly and the welfare of the people can be fulfilled immediately.
)* The author is a Papuan student living in Bali
