President identifies gap in development direction

Kamis, 27 Mei 2021 13:48 WIB

Screenshot - President Joko Widodo addressed the opening of national coordination meeting on the government's internal supervision at the Bogor Presidential Palace in West Java on Thursday as monitored through the Youtube Channel of Presidential Secretariat from. Jakarta ANTARA/Rangga Pandu Asmara Jingga

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesian President Joko Widodo has observed a gap in the implementation of development programs by the central and regional governments that he attributed to the quality of planning.

Widodo made the statement in his address at the opening of a national coordination meeting on the government's internal supervision at the Bogor Presidential Palace in West Java on Thursday as monitored through the YouTube Channel of the Presidential Secretariat from Jakarta.

"The quality of planning needs to be improved. I still find unclear programs in terms of measured success and target. What is the target of the budget? Hence, (the programs) do not support the attainment of goals and synchronize with other programs or activities. As a result, a development gap between the central and regional governments is inevitable," he remarked.

Among the projects with a gap in the direction of national development are the construction of a dam without primary, secondary, and tertiary irrigation channels and the construction of a port without road access, he noted.

"I saw them on the field. I found (the construction of) a dam without primary, secondary, and tertiary irrigation networks and a port without road access to it. What do all these mean? How can the port be used without road access to it?" he emphasized.

The head of state pointed out that such a pattern was observed in more than one place and called for safeguarding the projects, as it had led to less optimum leverage of the programs and inflicted losses on the public.

"Hence, I order the BPKP (Development Finance Comptroller) and APIP (governmental internal supervisory apparatuses) of the ministries and institutions and regional governments to safeguard the projects from the start," he stressed.

The president appealed to his ranks to not replicate the planning in the previous years that make them less adaptive to the existing situation.