VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta (voinews): 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.

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.

Attendees 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. (Antaranews)