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January
Head of National Disaster Mitigation Agency –BNPB, Doni Monardo in a joint press conference with a number of Indonesian Cabinet Ministers at the Presidential Office in Jakarta on Friday afternoon (01/01/2020), explained that his side has proposed to President Joko Widodo to issue Presidential Instruction (Inpres) for each region in a bid to stipulate contingency plans. Doni Monardo further said the Inpres is aimed at reminding all Regional Heads to prepare mitigation steps for all potential disasters that will happen.
“The BNPB also proposes to the President related to the Presidential Instruction on Regional obligations to set up a 'contingency plan' because almost every year, Indonesia experiences routine problems. When dry season comes, we experience forest and land fires, when rainy season comes, we experience flash floods and landslides and the disasters almost certainly caused human victims and property. The Inpres is expected that all central and regional components, including the Indonesian Military and Police can remind regional heads to take precautionary steps by making mitigation and alertness. Then if there is dynamics of the loss of public property, it is expected to determine the status of local officials. Because of the status, the central government can provide budget assistance, including the BNPB to provide budget support to regions that have decided an emergency status,” said Doni.
Moreover, Head of BNPB Doni Monardo also hopes that all Regional Heads in Indonesia can improve awareness of disasters by keeping on monitoring weather developments that can be accessed through the Meteorology Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG). He also appealed to the Regional Heads to disseminate information held by the public so that disaster awareness can be improved. (VOI/Ndy/AHM) / TRANS:AF)
January
Indonesian Ambassador to South Africa Salman Al Farisi (on the right). (Indonesian Embassy in Pretoria)
Jakarta - Indonesia will continually strive to intensify economic relations with South Africa in 2020, Indonesian Ambassador to South Africa Salman Al Farisi noted. The ambassador remarked in a statement issued by the Indonesian Embassy in Pretoria and received in Jakarta, Friday.
"The economic condition in South Africa is still quite challenging for us to be able to penetrate the market deeper and bring diverse Indonesian products here. However, in 2019, we got some positive indications, ranging from the commitment of several companies in Indonesia to bring representatives in South Africa, to new investment plans from South African companies to Indonesia," Ambassador Al Farisi stated.
He highlighted that some agreements, such as the Defense Cooperation Agreement and MoU in the Fisheries Sector, had almost reached the final stage.
"We hope that 2020 would bring about more encouraging development," Al Farisi remarked while expressing hope for intensifying relations between the two countries.
Since 2015, trade volume between Indonesia and South Africa had shown a fluctuating trend. However, the Indonesian ambassador was not overly concerned about the trade balance in 2018 that showed a surplus for the South African side.
He pointed out that increased purchases of capital goods from South Africa was a good sign of productive activities in Indonesia, chiefly linked to the need for intensive infrastructure development in recent years.
Moreover, he pointed to Indonesia still holding vast potential to boost its exports, such as of automotive products, palm oil, and food and beverage products, to Sub-Saharan African countries.
Nevertheless, tariff barriers are still viewed as hindering trade relations between Indonesia and South Africa.
Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut B. Pandjaitan -- during his working visit to Cape Town on December 18-19, 2019, -- met Minister of Trade and Industry of South Africa, Ebrahim Patel.
During the meeting, Minister Patel welcomed the preliminary discussion on the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) between both nations and expected a concrete step to begin with a study by a technical team in the start of this year.
Moreover, Minister Patel indicated several investment potentials by Indonesian businesspersons, especially the relocation of the textile and footwear industry.
The economic condition of South Africa and the surrounding countries, within the accreditation scope of the Indonesian Embassy in Pretoria, have influenced the Indonesian government’s strategy in its efforts to expand the African market for Indonesian products.
Low spending of the household sector in 2019 has demonstrated that South African consumers are still financially cautious. With the slowing economic growth at around 0.7 percent in 2019, South Africa is facing the problem of unemployment rate of 29.1 percent, thereby making it a country with the highest unemployment rate in the world.
In response to such a condition, Ambassador Al Farisi believes the investment-led model is one of the most suitable mechanisms of cooperation between both nations. He argued that Indonesian businesses must consider investing in African countries that will in turn boost exports.
"Helping to accelerate the local economy through the opening of new jobs will ultimately increase awareness, demand, and purchasing power of the people for Indonesian products," Al Farisi pointed out.
"This can be done by exporting semi-finished products from Indonesia, among others, while the process of finishing products should be done through partnerships with local parties," he added. (ANTARA)
January
Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo (right) (ANTARA)
Semarang, C. Java. - The Central Java provincial government shows sympathy for the victims of flash floods and landslides in Banten, Jakarta, and West Java by sending three trucks loaded with humanitarian aid packages on Friday evening.
The aid packages would be sent to each of the three provinces' disaster mitigation agencies to be then distributed to those in need in the disaster zones, Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo said.
Prabowo witnessed the departure of the trucks from the yard of his office on Friday evening, saying that the first batch of this humanitarian aid was a token of brotherhood and care of the people of Central Java to those affected by the deadly catastrophe.
The humanitarian aid packages contain 33 items of such stuff as baby diapers, blankets, bottled water, school uniforms, tents, mattresses, sarongs, and mukenas (head-to-toe prayer gowns) in which each of those items consists of 2,000 pieces, he said.
"There is not much we can send but, Insya Allah (God willing), this is part of our sense of brotherhood, love, care, and solidity among members of one nation. This is also part of our habit of helping one another whenever disasters strike. We help one another," Ganjar Pranowo said.
The Central Java provincial administration also dispatched tens of its personnel and volunteers to help their colleagues in the disaster zones in the three provinces, he added.
Regarding the deadly flash floods and landslides hitting greater Jakarta areas early this year, The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Bambang Soesatyo urged central and regional governments and communities to not engage in a blame game over the catastrophe.
In its place, Soesatyo called on all related parties within the central and regional governments, whose areas were ravaged by the catastrophe over these past three days, to strengthen synergy and cooperation to prevent a relapse of a similar disaster in future.
The flash floods and landslides, ravaging certain areas in Jakarta and several districts and cities in the provinces of West Java and Banten over these past three days, have claimed at least 43 lives and affected 409 thousand others.
Most of the affected people were found in Bekasi City in West Java, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman, Agus Wibowo, noted in a press statement.
The agency recorded that the catastrophe affected 366,274 residents of Bekasi City, while 20,939 and 13,230 people respectively in Jakarta and Bogor District, West Java, bore the impacts of the floods.
The flash floods and landslides also struck the areas of Lebak District and Tangerang Selatan City in Banten Province as well as those in Bekasi District, Bogor City, Depok City, and Cikarang District in West Java Province, Wibowo remarked.
In helping social workers provide food packs for the flood survivors in Jakarta, state-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina (Persero) distributed 146 Bright Gas and 12-kilogram gas canisters to handle the demands of 13 public kitchens.
The company's spokesperson, Dewi Sri Utami, had stated earlier that the gas canisters were distributed to the public kitchens on Thursday after those from PT Pertamina's Marketing Operation Region III coordinated with the authorities of BNPB and Jakarta's Social Affairs Office.
A total of 146 gas canisters were handed over to 13 of the 20 public kitchens that the authorities had set up around the capital city to provide food packs to the flood survivors, she remarked, adding that the gas canisters will again be distributed to those in need. (ANTARA)
January
Jakarta - Head of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) Doni Monardo said that he had proposed to President Joko Widodo to issue a Presidential Instruction (Inpres) so that each region made contingency plans.
Speaking at a joint press conference with a number of Advanced Indonesian Cabinet Ministers at the Presidential Office, Jakarta, Friday (01/01/2020) afternoon, Doni Monardo said that the Inpres was intended to remind all Regional Heads to prepare mitigation measures against all potential disasters that would occur.
Doni said that with the Inpres, all Regional Heads were also expected to immediately determine the status of the disaster that occurred so as to reduce the number of victims who fell due to the disaster. In addition, by determining the status of disasters more quickly, the central government can also immediately intervene to help disaster management.
"We also propose to the President, related to the Presidential Instruction on Regional obligations to draw up a 'contingency plan'. Because almost every year we experience routine problems. During the dry season we experience forest and land fires, in the rainy season we experience flash floods and landslides and in this event it almost cause loss of life and property and with this Inpres it is hoped that all central and regional components including the Indonesian Military (TNI) / Indonesian Police ( Polri) can remind regional heads to take precautionary measures by making mitigation and vigilance, then also in the event of a dynamic loss of property the community is expected to determine the status of regional officials. Because with this status, the central government can provide budget assistance including BNPB to provide budget support to regions that have set an emergency status," said Doni.
Furthermore, the Head of BNPB Doni Monardo also hopes that all Regional Heads in Indonesia can increase awareness of disasters by continuing to monitor weather developments that can be accessed through the Meteorology Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG). Doni Monardo also appealed to the Regional Head to forward the information held to the public so that disaster awareness can be improved.
Present at the press conference were the Minister of Public Works and Public Housing Basuki Hadimuljono, Social Minister Juliari Batubara, Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian and Minister of Health Terawan Agus Putranto. (VOI / Ndy / AHM)