Agency to assist 1,000 low-income families

Irawaty Wardany, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar

The Bali Social Welfare Agency plans to help 1,000 low-income families establish small-scale enterprises in 2008.

"Some 147,044 families still live below the poverty line in Bali and we should offer them assistance so as they can beat the cycle of poverty," agency head Anak Agung Gede Alit told The Jakarta Post here Friday.

He said the assistance would be in the form of seeds, tools or farm animals rather than money.

"We will give farmers cows or pigs to raise and breed and we will give craftsmen tools to develop their businesses," he said.

He said by helping poor families in this way it was hoped they could develop their own businesses and become financially independent in the future.

"This program is unlike direct cash aid programs, in which people only receive cash. Such programs do not help people become independent in the long term," he said.

The government has been offering direct cash aid to the poor since 2004 to compensate for its decision to cut oil subsidies.

Increasing oil prices have caused the price of basic commodities to rise in recent years.

Some Rp 100,000 (US$10.8) in direct cash aid is given to low-income families through PT. Pos Indonesia every three months.

Gede Alit said the agency was waiting for local governments throughout Bali to send data on the number of low-income families in their regions.

He said any family listed on the agency's list of poor residents would be entitled to join the program.

"They should also have vocational skills or have operated a business in the past and be willing to be part of a group because we will distribute the assistance to groups and not to individuals," he said.

He said the program would run according to the principles of mutual responsibility.

"Therefore, if one person does not achieve the required goals then all members of the group will be responsible," he said.

He said the agency was allocated Rp 3 billion in the state budget to implement the program.

The agency implemented a similar program last year, involving 750 people in 24 villages.

"We are yet to receive a full report on the program from the Social Community Empowerment Agency, which carried out the program. Therefore, we haven't been able to determine whether or not last year's program was a success," he said.