Ilustration of clean water (IST)
Jayapura, 13/5 (Jubi) – The Provincial Government has not allocated funds for water development in the provincial budget for this year.
“Water development in Province Papua needs at least Rp 20 billion a year, and for years we got support from the State Budget. Meanwhile for this year, our Regional Budget allocated zero funds for water development,” the Head Division of Human Settlement and Water Supply of Papua’s Public Works Department, Yan Ukago said to reporters in Jayapura on Tuesday (13/5).
Last year the Special Autonomy Fund allocated budget for his division to support the water development, but for this year it has not budgeted. So for that reason, his division will continue to finalize the rest of the last year works by using the State Budget.
He further said the new policy of the Governor Lukas Enembe to share 80% of the Special Autonomy Funds to the regencies/municipality government might affect the Papua Regional Budget, so for this year the water development has no longer planned in the budget.
“However, we are optimistic that the State Budget could be used to finalize the last year works. But he urged the Governor to allocate budget for water development in the next year, since one of the indicators of the Human Development Index is the clean water,” he said.
Earlier, the Governor Lukas Enembe said all stakeholders should refer to the Provincial and Regencies/Municipality Mid-term Regional Plan in the planning and the implementation of their work programs, thus the acceleration of infrastructures development in Papua could be realized effectively, measurable and organized according to the phases that have been defined.
“For infrastructure, the government has built the human settlements in the five pilot regencies based on the five customary areas specified in the priority scale; 13 thousand unit of proper housing, inter-villages road constructions. It has also provided the clean water for the community and build some public facilities to support the services of health, education and sport,” the Governor said. (Jubi/Alex/rom)
