Day: March 2, 2023

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is targeting to digitalize at least 30 million micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by 2024.”We have a target for 2024, (namely) 30 million MSMEs, or half of the total 64.2 million MSME players to be digitalized,” Deputy for Entrepreneurship at the ministrySiti Azizah said at a webinar on “Encouraging Digital Technology Utilization for MSMEs’ Financial Access Improvement” here on Thursday. s of 2021, the number of digitalized MSMEs reached 17.28 million–surpassing the government’s target of 13.5 million–due to the accelerated use of digital technologies by MSMEs on account of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We are aware that MSME players need to utilize digital technologies. From year to year, the potential of the digital economy continues to improve. We even project the potential of the digital economy to reach Rp5.4 thousand trillion,” she informed. baca-jugaRelated news: Ministry aims to help 24 mln MSMEs join digital ecosystem The government continued its program for providing education on digital and financial literacy to MSMEs in 2022, carried out an MSME clinic road map, and appointed a project management officer (PMO) to accelerate the digitalization of MSMEs. As a result, so far, 20.99 million MSMEs have been digitalized. In 2023, several of the programs will be continued, including the implementation of the PMO to reach the target of digitalizing 24 million MSMEs. “In 2024, it is expected that there would be special big data for participants or players in MSMEs that have been digitalized, of course, by ensuring that data security is maintained,” the deputy said. ccording to Azizah, the collection of data on MSMEs has started since 2021 with the help of a single data information system. Last year, data on as many as 9.2 million MSMEs was collected, she added. “We hope that in 2024, we will have obtained the ‘by name by address’ data of MSME players and other data from MSME players that will be added with the digitalization data,” she said. baca-jugaRelated news: Trade Ministry turns to MSMEs to tap digital economy potential

Source: Antara News Agency

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Public service agencies (BLUs) have helped Indonesia’s economy recover relatively quickly from the COVID-19 pandemic and record higher growth, Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, has said.Indonesia’s economic growth has been one of the highest among the G20 and ASEAN countries. “This would not have been possible without BLUs’ contribution, which made extraordinarily hard adjustments during a pandemic,” Indrawati said at the “2023 BLU Coordination Meeting (Rakor),” which was accessed online from here on Thursday. During the pandemic, BLUs continued to make a significant contribution to non-tax state revenues (PNBP). In 2020, their contribution to PNBP was Rp69.31 trillion; in 2021, the figure increased to Rp126.02 trillion; and in 2022, it declined to Rp89.5 trillion. In addition, BLUs also provided services to the community during the COVID-19 pandemic, she noted. s of 2022, the health BLU had served more than 12.15 million inpatients and outpatients, up 22.91 percent from 2021. The government allocated a big budget for the health sector during the pandemic. The budget was allocated to the Ministry of Health, and most of it was provided to hospitals with BLU status. The Finance Minister then thanked the health BLU for working hard during the three years of the pandemic and expressed the hope that the hospital BLU would continue to use the budget in an accountable manner. Besides the health BLU, the education BLU also worked hard to provide services to the community during the pandemic. total of 185,632 students (from disadvantaged groups and 3T areas) received discounted rates and scholarships in 2022. “We also provided free Internet quota through BLU because of changes in learning methods at that time,” Indrawati noted. Then, there were several other BLUs that also worked hard during the pandemic, such as the infrastructure BLU that connects the Internet network in 57 regencies/cities in the 3T regions. The BLUs also provided incentives for the production of 10.6 million kiloliters of biodiesel in 2022, an increase of 15.5 percent compared to 2021. The infrastructure BLU also procured land for 52 toll roads, 37 dams, 9 railway lines, a port, 5 irrigation facilities, a National Tourism Strategic Area (KSPN) in Mandalika, and a raw water national strategic project (PSN). In the meantime, the BLU for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) also provided Rp43.1 trillion in financing to more than 7.8 million MSMEs. baca-jugaRelated news: Low fund allocations in APBD challenge to leprosy handling: MinistryRelated news: Financing increase at pandemic onset could finance 2 IKNs: Minister

Source: Antara News Agency

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) is seeking to allocate at least 20 percent of Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) housing to low-income communities (MBR).”This is an effort to encourage our policy, which my first hope is that residential housing in TOD centers will at least allocate a minimum of 20 percent of TOD occupancy (for MBR),” Director General of Housing at the PUPR MinistryIwan Suprijantosaid at a TOD seminar in Jakarta on Thursday. Suprijanto informed that his directorate wants housing in TOD areas, especially premium areas, to be made available at low prices for people who really intend to occupy or directly need such housing. This is to ensure there is full TOD occupancy and public transportation near the TOD area can optimally serve the community, he said. “So, the government must have an affirmative and more impartial policy. So, we will try 20 percent first, and then we will gradually increase it,” he disclosed. Earlier, PT Adhi Commuter Properti Tbk (ADCP), a mass transportation-based property developer in Indonesia, said it was ready to accelerate TOD-based residential development in the Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, and Bekasi (Jabodebek) areas. This is in line with the development of the Jabodebek Light Rapid Transit (LRT) project Phase 1, which is planned to become commercially operational this year. part from that, it would be a positive catalyst for the company, considering that the TOD concept housing developed by ADCP is integrated with the LRT Station. Therefore, ADCP is increasingly determined to accelerate the development of residential areas based on the TOD concept, so that people can experience the benefits of living in dwellings with ease of access to mobilization. baca-jugaRelated news: Ministry lists 5 housing challenges in Nusantara new capitalRelated news: Ministry applies risk management to prevent fraud in IKN developmentRelated news: PUPR integrates digital service information system through SPBE

Source: Antara News Agency

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Coordinating Minister for Human Development and CultureMuhadjir Effendycommended the success of the Tulungagung District Government, East Java Province, in alleviating extreme poverty in the area.”The Tulungagung District Government did a very good job in alleviating poverty and must become a (role) model for other regions to reduce extreme poverty,” he noted in Jakarta, Thursday. Extreme poverty in Tulungagung had reached zero percent in 2022, according to a report conveyed during the ministry’s roadshowon stuntingreduction and poverty alleviation held online. To this end, Effendy stated that currently, the central government was continuing the hard work to reduce the extreme poverty rate, which in 2021, was recorded at four percent and was targeted to reach zero percent by 2024. “President Joko Widodo has assigned all stakeholders to commit to eliminating extreme poverty six years faster than the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) target in 2030, to 2024,” he remarked. In order to reduce the extreme poverty rate, the government is striving to reduce the expenditure burden of population groups with extreme poverty levels by providing social assistance and subsidies as well as running empowerment programs to increase their productivity and economic capacity, the minister explained. Meanwhile, Tulungagung District HeadMaryoto Birowostated that the efforts being made to reduce the poverty rate were by establishing short-term plans and utilizing information technology. “At first, we implemented short-term policies that had been prepared in the first quarter that consisted of three priorities, namely preventing economic shocks through controlling the COVID-19 pandemic, on-time distribution of social security, and movement of the local economy,” he explained. Moreover, to accommodate the data collection process for poor families, the local government has also prepared an application called the Tulungagung Integrated Poverty Reduction Information System (SIPEKA), he stated. baca-jugaRelated news: Minister asks local govts to validate extreme poverty dataRelated news: Jakarta govt’s social spending reaches Rp17.18 trillionRelated news: Decline in poverty rate indicates zakat success: MinistryRelated news: Stunting, poverty reduction govt’s focus in short term: minister

Source: Antara News Agency

Meanwhile, some ASEAN countries, including Indonesia, are working hard to get out of the middle-income trap. Thus, we need a new engine for economic growth. Jakarta (ANTARA) – Deputy for Economic Affairs of the Indonesian National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) Amalia Adninggar Widyasanti invited ASEAN member countries to optimize the blue economy as a new driver for growth to improve regional economic security.”We need high economic growth in a sustainable and inclusive way,” she told participants of theMulti-Stakeholder Dialogue on the Development of the ASEAN Blue Economy Framework in Belitung District, Bangka Belitung Islands Province, as monitored virtually from Jakarta on Wednesday. The blue economy is one of the potentials that the ASEANmember countries can utilize together as a new source of growth for making their economy strong,Widyasanti stated. She noted that currently, ASEAN’s economic growth is on a downward trend, so the region needs a new growth driver. Moreover, most ASEAN member countries seek to advance, from being lower-middle income nations to become upper middle-income countries, the deputy remarked. “Meanwhile, some ASEAN countries, including Indonesia, are working hard to get out of the middle-income trap. Thus, we need a new engine for economic growth,” she remarked. Hence, she assessed that it is crucial to develop the blue economy, considering the vast marine resource potentials. Widyasanti noted that the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) projects that the added value of marine resources will reach around US$30 trillion by 2030. However, the blue economy potentials had yet to be fully explored, including in the ASEAN region, she pointed out. “(By optimizing marine resources), we will not only strengthen the economy but we can also unlock our economic potential and achieve high growth in the future,” she stated. The deputy remarked that “ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth” was selected as the theme of Indonesia’s chairmanship of ASEAN in 2023 since the region had various advantages to become the anchor of global stability and the center of global growth in the future. “ASEAN actually has (many) potentials for (regional) development. Thus, we need to collaborate and work together to optimize our economic potentials. I want to reemphasize that the blue economy truly has the potential (to serve as a new driver) for economic growth,” she added. baca-jugaRelated news: Indonesia invites ASEAN nations to overcome maritime challengesRelated news: Indonesia, Seychelles intensify collaboration to support blue economy

Source: Antara News Agency

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani called on 264 Public Service Agencies (BLUs) to properly manage assets across Indonesia worth Rp1,170 trillion to ensure that their value does not decrease.”Do not allow the assets to sit idle. They have to work,” Sri Mulyani stated at the 2023 BLU Coordination Meeting that was monitored online in Jakarta, Thursday. Thus, productive and commercial asset management should still be conducted through the application of good governance guidelines. To this end, BLU managers and supervisory boards should continue to think creatively, be innovative, and work hard to improve or add to the services of an asset rather than burdening the community. Moreover, currently, increasingly more number of BLUs have assets in strategic locations, such as in the middle of a crowd or city. ccording to the minister, this can be used, so that BLUs do not only depend on the injections of the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN). “Hence, the income received can be used to improve services. If the BLU takes the form of a hospital, it can be used to invest in medical devices, services, or even honorariums for all workers,” she remarked. The Ministry of Finance noted that through asset management, BLUs in 2022 had contributed Rp89.5 trillion to non-tax state revenue (PNBP). This figure exceeded the target of Rp78.8 trillion, or reached 113.57 percent. baca-jugaRelated news: BLU performance must be linked with development goal: Finance MinisterRelated news: Ministry applies risk management to prevent fraud in IKN development

Source: Antara News Agency

Kupang, E Nusa Tenggara (ANTARA) – The joint Search and Rescue (SAR) team is searching for an unnamed motorboat, carrying seven passengers, that reportedly sank due to high waves in the waters of Pungu Besar Island, West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara.Head of the Maumere City SAR Office Mexianus Bekabel stated on Thursday that a joint team in Labuan Bajo, West Manggarai, had headed to the accident site to conduct its operations to rescue the passengers. During its journey to Seraya Island, the unnamed motorboat sank on Thursday at 11:40 a.m. local time, about 5.61 nautical miles from Labuan Bajo Port on the western tip of Flores Island, according to Bekabel. The unnamed motorboat was an inter-island passenger vessel serving the Labuan Bajo-Seraya route. “The SAR team has headed to the incident site to carry out rescue and search operations for the passengers. This operation was carried out after coordinating with the potential SAR (team) in the area to conduct the operation jointly,” Bekabel, who serves as the SAR Mission Coordinator (SMC), remarked. The joint team included five personnel from the Maumere SAR office, two from the West Manggarai SAR Post, one from the West Manggarai harbormaster’s office, one personnel from the Navy, and one from the Labuan Bajo Water Police. Earlier, on February 28, the Kupang Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) had warned residents of the potential for high waves in parts of the East Nusa Tenggara sea area over the next few days. “Waves, with a height of 1.25-5 meters, or medium category, and 2.5 to four meters, or the high category, can potentially arise in most sea areas in the province, which should be watched out for (especially) sailing ships,” Head of the Maritime Meteorological Station of BMKG Tenau Kupang Syaeful Hadi explained. baca-jugaRelated news: Six sailors rescued by tuna fishing vessel arrive at Timika

Source: Antara News Agency

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) called on the regional government to include disaster risk in their development plans to detect which disaster-prone locations should not become investment targets.”The regional government must include disaster risk in its development and investment plan,” he noted while opening the 2023 National Coordination Meeting on Disaster Mitigation in Jakarta, Thursday. By including disaster risk in the development plans, transparent information will be available on locations that can be used for development, he remarked. This effort will also help officers in the field to take action on developments that violate regional spatial plans and have a high likelihood to increase disaster, the president remarked. “The officers should be able to strictly prohibit construction in the landslide-prone area,” he stated. Jokowi spoke of having often noticed buildings near the river despite the location being a flood-prone area. “It is obvious that there is a river in the area, but people keep building houses in the riverbank area that is prone to floods. This is what I often see,” he stated. baca-jugaRelated news: Spatial planning becomes crucial in disaster risk areas: Ministry Hence, the head of state also urged the regional government, through the Regional Development Planning Agency (Bappeda), to oversee the implementation of development. “Bappeda must be able to manage regional planning. However, sometimes, the planning and implementation are different in the field. That is our weakness,” he emphasized. On the occasion, he also cautioned the regional government regarding the regulation complexity for social assistance disbursal when a disaster occurs. “Usually, the assistance is piled up at the command post or at the village office. The people affected are only able to see it. Please simplify the distribution method during a disaster,” he emphasized. ttendees at the 2023 National Coordination Meeting on Disaster Mitigation were ministers from the Advanced Indonesia Cabinet; regional heads and elements of the regional government; Commander of the Indonesia Defense Forces (TNI), Admiral Yudo Margono; National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo; Head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), Lieutenant General Suharyanto; and other relevant officials. baca-jugaRelated news: Indonesia needs regional-based disaster resilience system: Bappenas Related news: BNPB spotlights importance of localization in disaster risk reduction

Source: Antara News Agency