VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Mar. 9 - COVID-19 Handling Task Force Chief Doni Monardo praised the involvement of personnel of the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) and Police (Polri) in tracing COVID-19 cases as a correct step since many had a medical background.

In fact, the TNI and Polri have several hospitals in various regions across the country, Monardo noted here on Tuesday.

"Several Babinsa (community police) personnel have background as nurses. It is not difficult to train those, with experience of being nurse, to serve as tracers," Monardo remarked while addressing the National Coordinating Meeting on Disaster Mitigation organized by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).

In fact, several countries are also currently deploying military personnel to function as COVID-19 case tracers, according to Monardo.

Moreover, it is easy to train TNI and Polri members since they were selected and trained personnel since the start, he pointed out. Moreover, they are present in every region across the country and also in rural areas.

"Hence, recruiting the military and police personnel as tracer officers is a very appropriate step. Hence, the president has involved TNI and Polri officers. The TNI commander and Police chief have provided tremendous support," he affirmed.

The Task Force intends to hone the capabilities of TNI and Polri officers to enable them to train several volunteers in various regions, who have joined the tracer team, Monardo noted.

The BNPB coordinating meeting also conducted an assessment of the year-long handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. (Antaranews)

Mar. 9 -  Independent Forestry Monitoring Network (JPIK) cautioned the government and relevant parties of ongoing deforestation and its likely increase, chiefly following forest areas converted for palm oil plantations and mining, encroachment, illegal logging, and forest fires.

"One of the causes of deforestation in Indonesia is the clearing of land to make way for palm oil plantations," Muhammad Ichwan, an activist of JPIK, an Indonesian NGO, noted in a press release here on Monday.

On the basis of the 2020 data of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), palm oil plantations in forest areas currently span 3,443,508 hectares.

Ichwan believes this is a quite large figure and could pose a serious threat to primary forests in Indonesia.

"Since the 2019-2020 period, 158 cases of illegal logging activities were handled by legal enforcers," he pointed out.

On the basis of these facts, the JPIK estimated that the current threat of the rate of deforestation will continue to increase.

Ichwan also opined that the issuance of Environmental Affairs and Forestry Minister's Regulation, Permen-LHK No. 24 of 2020 on Food Estate, will open up space for massive land clearing, including in protected forests, thereby leading to an estimated potential loss of one million cubic meters of logs.

Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Forestry Planning and Environmental Management of the Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Forestry, however, recently noted that deforestation in Indonesia had decreased by 75.03 percent during the 2019-2020 period.

In a statement issued on March 3, 2021, the ministry stated that during the 2018-2019 period, the area of deforestation had totaled 462.46 thousand hectares, while during the 2019-2020 period, it had declined to 115.46 thousand hectares. (Antaranews)

Mar. 9 - The Public Works and Housing (PUPR) Ministry confirmed that 110,544 workers got employed through the Cash Labor-Intensive Program (PKT) until early March of 2021.

"In addition to accelerating economic recovery and increasing the people's purchasing power, the Cash Labor-Intensive Program aims to distribute funds to villages. The program should also be implemented in compliance with the physical and social distancing protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19," PUPR Minister Basuki Hadimuljono noted in a written statement received here on Tuesday.

The minister remarked that the program was implemented through infrastructure development that involved communities, particularly for small-scale infrastructure development or simple work that did not necessitate the use of technology.

Minister Hadimuljono is sanguine that the program would directly contribute to efforts to drive the nation’s economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The PUPR Ministry has implemented the program in 2021, with a budget funding of Rp23.24 trillion to absorb 1.23 million workers.

Until early March of 2021, the budget funding to implement the program had reached Rp1.39 trillion, or six percent of the total funds, and had employed 110,544 workers.

Meanwhile, the types of work conducted by workers in the program comprised the development of community infrastructure that supports the productivity of rural communities, such as carrying out small-scale irrigation construction, roads repairs, and construction of subsidized houses, as well as handling slum areas and improving the quality of drinking water and sanitation facilities.

To handle water resources infrastructure (SDA), the cash-intensive scheme has allotted a budget of Rp7.15 trillion, with a target of 386,159 workers. The program is implemented across all River Basin Areas (BBWS/BWS) of the SDA Directorate General of the Ministry, spread throughout 34 provinces.

For road and bridge repairs, the PUPR Ministry, through the Directorate General of Highways, has allocated Rp6.69 trillion of funding to absorb 273,603 workers. Furthermore, funding of Rp5.29 trillion is allotted for the development of settlements and targeted to absorb 194,471 workers.

Furthermore, the labor-intensive budget is allocated by the Directorate General of Housing for subsidized housing programs, or known as self-help housing stimulant assistance (BSPS), totaling 190,130 units, with a target of 378,460 workers. In 2021, some Rp4.11 trillion of funding had been apportioned for the program and will be implemented for improving the quality of self-help housing. (Antaranews)

Mar. 9 - The Trade Ministry, in collaboration with Canada's Trade Facilitation Office (TFO), unveiled the Woman in Trade for Inclusive Sustainable Growth (WITISG) Program to empower 350 Indonesian women engaged in 240 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

During the virtual training program, several experts of TFO Canada would assist Indonesia's female exporters to gain global and sustainable business perspectives, Kasan, the ministry's Director General of National Export Development, noted in a statement here on Tuesday.

During the online program, Canadian experts edified participants on ways to apply innovative promotional methods, such as virtual exhibitions, to promote their products, especially food and services, and to be able to penetrate international markets, especially Canadian and US markets.

The participants also received information about the Market Entry Study Program on strategies to foray into the Canadian market, coaching for Trade Support Institutions (TSIs), Training of Trainers (ToT), and local Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) training.

"The global business situation in this era has shifted to a new phase wherein creativity and innovation must be emphasized. Consumers have many choices and are becoming more selective in choosing products. Suppliers are required to be tougher in presenting their products, both by building good relationships with consumers, and caring about gender and environmental issues," Kasan stated.

Meanwhile, Executive Director of TFO Canada Steve Tipman remarked that the TFO remains committed to offering assistance for the economic empowerment of Indonesian women to enter the Canadian market. One of the approaches involves boosting the trade capacity, especially during challenging times, such as during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Food products, especially the processed ones, have significant potential to support the growth of the trade sector in Indonesia.

During the January-October 2020 period, Indonesia's processed food exports were valued at US$6.16 billion.

Indonesia's processed food exports to Canada in 2020 were recorded at US$34.39 million, an increase of 38.84 percent as compared to the previous year.

Last year, Indonesia's total exports to Canada in 2020 were valued at US$789 million, with a positive trend of 1.95 percent, during the 2016-2020 period. Indonesia chiefly exported rubber, chocolates, sports footwear, turbines, and tires to Canada in 2020.

Meanwhile, Indonesia's total imports from Canada amounted to US$1.6 billion in 2020, down 12.14 percent from the previous year. Indonesia mainly imported products, including cereals, fertilizers, pulp, soybeans, iron ore, and concentrates from Canada. (Antaranews)