Poverty rate in 2009 estimated at 13.5 pct

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The government has estimated that the poverty rate in the country in 2009 will decline to 12 - 13.5 percent, or lower than in 2008 when it stood at 15.4 percent, a cabinet minister said. 

Minister for National Development Planning/Chairman of National Development Planning Board (Bappenas), Paskah Suzetta said here on Monday that his office was still waiting for the calculation results of the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) on the poverty rate this year. 

He said that in 2008 the BPS issued a report which stated that the poverty rate in the country in that year was 15.4 percent. 

"With programs in 2009 and stand-by funds it is estimated that the poverty rate this year would decline to 12 to 13.5 percent," he added. 

However, he added, his office's pessimistic calculation predicted the poverty rate this year at 12-14 percent. 

He said that in an effort to reduce the poverty rate the government based on its 2009 work plan would carry out a number of programs such as social protection and assistance, people's empowerment and strengthening of micro, small and medium enterprises. 

Suzetta said that the social assistance and protection included the education field where the government would launch a school operational assistance (BOS)program for all levels in both state-owned and privately run schools. 

The BOS program is provided to free financially weak students from school payments and reduce the burden of other students so that they would receive quality basic education until they graduated. 

The BOS target for 2009 includes 27.1 million elementary school students, 9.5 million lower secondary school students, 3.7 million  public school students and 1.5 million Islamic boarding school students. 

Besides that the government would also provide health care assistance for poor families where about 75.4 million poor people were expected to enjoy class III health service and all people would have access to health care centers. 

On the empowerment of the people in 2009, Suzetta said that the government planned to allocate Rp10 trillion in order to support its National People's Empowerment Program (PNPM). The program included the improvement of people's resettlement, infrastructure, public facilities and the improvement of their social and economic environment through intensive labor programs.