Markus Makur, Timika – More than half of the population of Mimika regency, Papua, live below the poverty line and lack access to health care, education, proper clothing and food, an official said Tuesday.
As many as 28,000 of the 45,000 families in Mimika, where the giant PT Freeport Indonesia gold mine is located, are poor, according to Mimika Statistics Agency (BPS) head Amin Nazar in the regency capital of Timika.
Nazar said that while the official 2007 statistic were still being compiled, it was known that a significant increase had taken place.
A high migration rate has seen the population of Mimika explode in recent years and the rise of poverty as a serious local issue.
The BPS measure poverty by judging how basic needs are met – such as the average required calorie intake for a human, 2,100 – with an inability to meet them indicating poverty.
A family's monthly spending ability is also taken into account, with those who have less than the local average per capita budget being below the poverty line.
Papua Vice Governor Alex Hesegem recently said his office had pledged to carry out a rural-to-urban development program to improve Papuan standards of living.
Hesegem said 2,000 kampongs in 116 districts in Papua would receive Rp 100 million (US$11,100) each to develop their areas and improve the welfare of poor people. He added that the provincial administration was committed to realizing the program. One of the options is to build an effective telecommunications network reaching rural areas so as to provide people with information on economic development.
Besides setting up a cellular phone network, the administration will also establish radio stations in remote areas to empower Papuans in the telecommunications sector.
Apart from the Rp 100 million in assistance from the provincial administration, Hesegem said regency administrations across Papua would also set aside funds for rural development, such as Mimika regency, which has allocated Rp 100 million to rural communities in 12 of its districts.
"The Papua provincial administration will disburse Rp 400 billion to implement the rural-to-urban development program. The funds, derived from the provincial budget, will be intended for rural areas, where most of the residents live in mountainous and swampy areas," he said.
Most of the people in Mimika live in the mountainous, coastal and remote areas of the regency, such as Amar, Kawar, Manuare, Kokonao and Ipaya villages in West Mimika district.
Housing in Timika city, as well as in Kwamki Lama village, Karaka Island and Asmat village in East Mimika district, is often unsuitable to live in. Mimika is one of the biggest mining areas in the world, but its people are still categorized as poor.
Mimika regency has been provided with special autonomy funds, royalties from PT Freeport Indonesia and funds from the provincial and regency budgets, but still lacks infrastructure development.
The Indonesian Military, through its Rural Civic Action Program, this year constructed bridges and piers for fishing boats, focussing its activities on Kokonao, capital of West Mimika district.
The military will later conduct integrated community services financed by the government, which will be concentrated in Jita, one of its 12 districts. It will prioritize building clean water facilities for residents, bridges and piers for fishing boats and renovating homes.
It will also assign its officers to teach in schools which have been abandoned by their teachers for months.