Village Development

By Drs. J.E Hosio, M.Si. M..Th

A. Background

The implementation of special autonomy (OTSUS) for Papua province as regulated in UU No.21 Year 2001 gave wider authority to Papua local government and the people. On top of that, OTSUS implementation is a basic alteration of government system from centralised, bureaucratic and uniformed, to decentralised, transparent and based on local requirements.

Government regulations on decentralisation through UU Number 32 Year 2004 and fiscal decentralisation through UU Number 33 Year 2004 are in line with OTSUS policy for Papua local government and the people to administer themselves in Papua within the framework of United Nation of Republic of Indonesia.

UU No.21 Year 2001 on OTSUS for Papua, especially Article 15 and 34, gives wider autonomy to Papua local government in managing Papua’s special budget to ensure effective spending for the welfare of Papuans.

This wider autonomy comes with bigger responsibility for Papua local government and its people. Participation from all levels of Papuans is expected. Thus, reformation pillars to conduct government and fiscal of democracy, decentralisation and people’s participation are the basis and goal in conducting Village Development Programme.

Development Acceleration

By Drs. J.E Hosio, M.Si. M..Th

1. The arrival and implementation effect of UU No.21

Result of UU No.21 Year 2001 implementation on Special Autonomy for Papua is still far from expectation. Billions of Rupiah have been granted to improve Papua’s welfare. Unfortunately, the reality is far from ideal.

People in small villages live in very modest houses made of paddy walls, barks and leaves. They live in the dark as these houses have no electricity. They have little access to clean water, education and healthcare.

Most of Papua population still lives isolated in the high mountain and cliff, in remote island, over deep brackish water and dale. Most of these people was not reached and touched by development. The answer to this is lack of road infrastructure to get to these remote areas.

The expansion of province brought hope since its basic philosophy is to shorten government control over people. Ironically, only a few elite officials feel the advantage. This condition leads to significant plummet of trust from people towards central, province and regent governments.

But central government does notice  and give extra attention to millions of Papuans living on the far East Indonesia. The bleak condition of people in Papua encouraged central government to implement new paradigm of building Papua with dignity.

Finally, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono issued President Instruction Number  Year 2007 on 16 May 200. This step taken by the government is the continuation of  UU No.21 Year 2001 on Special Autonomy for Papua. The idea of this Instruction is  to accelerate development in Papua.

This is evident from President’s instruction to eleven related Ministers, Papua and West Papua Governors and all Mayors in the two provinces to take the necessary actions based on each function and authority to accelerate development.

2. Development Priority for Transport Infrastructures

Compare to other areas in Indonesia, Papua’s geographic landscape is a very tough terrain. Many indigenous Papuans live on high mountains, in isolated island and deep valleys. Most has not experienced development. The only way to open this isolation is to build and manage good ground, air and water transportations.

To that end, President Instruction No.5/2007 elected both Papua and West Papua governors as accountable for their own territory on sustainable development. They are expected to focus on five areas. One, food supply security and poverty reduction. Two, education quality improvement. Three, healthcare quality improvement. Four, basic infrastructure improvement in remote areas to improve accessibility. Five, special attention on quality improvement of indigenous Papuans.  

Source : Papua Barat dalam Realitas Politik NKRI by Drs. Jusach Eddy Hosio, M.Si. (free translation)

District Economy

By Drs. J.E Hosio, M.Si. M..Th

The economy of West Papua province is dominated mainly by agriculture. This is understandable due to its high agricultural potential. Rice, yam, ground nuts, green beans are among the major green grocer produce with production total of 124,565 tons in almost 35,168 hectare or an average of 35.47 kw/ha.

Wildlife forest of 11,678 hectare is the smallest forest in this region. At the moment, there are two entrepreneurs operating here; Kayu Lapis Indonesia Group and Djajanti Group covering Fak-fak Regent, Sorong and Manokwari.

Socio Cultural Condition

By Drs. J.E Hosio, M.Si. M..Th

 

1. Population

The population of West Irian Jaya in 2001 was 571,107 or 34.35% of total Papua population. The ratio of each town and province is as follows: Sorong city 157,116; Sorong province (including South Sorong) 139,038; Manokwari province (including Teluk Bintuni and Teluk Wondama provinces) 195,166 and Fak-Fak province 79,742. There is a steady increase in population since 1990. The population of 385,509 in 1990 increased to 571,107 in 2001 or a 32.5% increase.

Looking at the welfare, population of West Irian Jaya with 54,361 families falls under pre-welfare. This is understandable for its tough geographic landscape with limited infrastructure causing development to move slowly. Also, people’s low education level made a huge impact.

History of Governance

By Drs. J.E Hosio, M.Si. M..Th

Portuguese first came to Papua in 1551. They arrived in Manokwari and built Kenari Tinggi fortress. Their interest on Papua was the result of increased world demand on spices.

In 1663, the Dutch declared Papua as property of the King and the Dutch Empire. Their strategy to colonise Papua was to build trade relations through VOC.

The Dutch East Indies policy as recorded on State Paper No.62 dated 9 February 1989 stated Residen Ternate area is part of Afdeling Noord Nieuw Guinea based in Manokwari. On 1 May 1963, governmental system was adjusted based on President of RI Decree No.22 Year 1963 that Keresidenan Manokari was changed to Kabupaten Administratif(Administrative Regency). To maximise the effectiveness of state organisation, three Governor’s Assistance Area was established, each to be called Pembantu Gubernur Wilayah I based in Jayapura, .Pembantu Gubernur Wilayah II based in Manokwari and Pembantu Gubernur Wilayah III based in Merauke.

History of governance at the ‘Bird Head’ region showed a government administration unity of West Irian Jaya province with its capital Manokwari. This was legalised with UU No.45 Year 1999 on West Irian Jaya Expansion according to Paragraph 4 Line 2: West Irian Jaya consisted of eight regencies and one city, Sorong. The regencies were Sorong, Manokwari, Fak-Fak and five new expansions, South Sorong, Raja Ampat, Teluk Wondama, Teluk Bintuni and Kaimana.

Source : Papua Barat dalam Realitas Politik NKRI by Drs. Jusach Eddy Hosio, M.Si. (free translation)