Juni  2007

PAPUA GOVERNOR STARTS 2,600 – VILLAGE TOUR

Papua Governor Barnabas Suebu was in Bosnik kampong (village) in the Biak Numfor regency on Monday as part of a planned tour of 2,600 kampongs (small communities) in Papua to discuss a new grassroots financing plan, The Jakarta Post reported on Tuesday (5/6/07).

A similar tour is being undertaken by West Papua Governor Abraham O. Atururi, who will visit 1,700 kampongs in the new province.

Suebu will be unable to visit every kampong in Papua, but the governor says he will attempt to organize meetings with representatives of those kampongs not on his itinerary. The governor has arranged the tour to discuss his administration's plan to disburse Rp100 million (approximately US$11,000) to each kampong.

At each stop Suebu will be accompanied by local regents and officials of government agencies, who will offer information on the money and how kampongs are expected to manage the funds.

Governor Suebu is scheduled to make his last visit July 15 at Skouw kampong, near the border with Papua New Guinea, not far from the Papua provincial capital of Jayapura. Deputy Governor Alex Hesegem will then take over, visiting kampongs through until the end of August.

Suebu began realigning the provincial budget earlier this year, allocating a large portion of the budget to grassroots empowerment programs. Only a small portion of the budget has been earmarked to fund the operation of government offices. (Trade and Investment News, Kantor Menko Perekonomian,11/6/07)