Head of Bappenas: Local Development Requires Local Wisdom

The speakers of INITIATE Plenary: Moving Foward, IDF 2018.

Jakarta, July 11, 2018 - The success of local development across Indonesia  depends on how the regional chiefs perceive potentials in their region. According to the Minister of National Development Planning (Bappenas), Bambang Brodjonegoro, sub-national/local development should not be dependent on national government,  but rather, local wisdom of the local government.

“When national government is determined to implement development at local level,  but not responded by sub-national government, development  will be stalled. Contrary, if sub-national government welcomes the initiative,  development will run well,” explained Minister Bambang during INITIATE Plenary: Moving Foward, Indonesia Development Forum 2018, Wednesday, July 11, 2018.

Bambang mentioned about the District Government of Banyuwangi and Municipal Government of Manado, who enthusiastically raised local potential to improve their tourism sector. Added with connectivity infrastructure built by the national  government, both regions managed to increase tourist visits.

Bambang’s statement was agreed by the Minister of Transportation, Budi Karya. He explained that President Joko Widodo had instructed  that connectivity infrastructure development consider community’s  needs.

“We appreciate local governments who took the initiatives to implement development,” Bambang further added.

The Minister of Village, Disadvantaged Area, and Transmigration, Eko Putro Sandjojo, said that local wisdom must start from development at  village government level. When given the right opportunity, villages will be able  to reduce disparity in many parts of Indonesia.

“Pockets of poverty exist in villages. Economic growth   without poverty reduction is simply impossible!,” Eko iterated.

Therefore, local wisdom becomes one crucial concern raised in the Indonesia Development Forum 2018. The forum promotes best practices from local level to serve as development solutions for other regions.

 Indonesia Development Forum 2018 was initiated by the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) with the support of the Government of Australia through Knowledge Sector Initiative (KSI). IDF 2018 is held under the major theme of “Pathways to Tackle Regional Disparities Across the Archipelago”.

IDF 2018 promotes acceleration of more equal and sustainable development in Indonesia that are based upon science, experiences, and facts. The results will be used as a reference to develop the Mid-Term Development Plan of 2020-2024.**