The Jakarta Provincial Government is committed to tackling poverty in Jakarta, one of which is by synchronizing data from various related Regional Organizations (OPD).

The Jakarta Government must maintain the poverty line

It is done because it is very important to use accurate data in various social assistance programs for the middle and lower economic groups, as conveyed by Jakarta Acting Governor Heru Budi Hartono after chairing an executive meeting on poverty data synchronization at Jakarta City Hall, Tuesday (7/18).

"To overcome poverty in Jakarta, the Jakarta Government must maintain the poverty line. We have to keep the lower limit. That is by aggressively providing social assistance or social security to the community. We'll hold on there," he expressed.

The Acting Governor prepared various social assistance programs. These included subsidized food programs, Jakarta Smart Card, Jakarta Outstanding Student Card, Jakarta Child Card, Jakarta Disabilities Card, Jakarta Elderly Card, and other social welfare programs.

The Jakarta government also provides training through the Job Training Center, Jakpreneur entrepreneurship training through marketing programs and capital facilities, and other programs.

He furthered the two-year Covid-19 pandemic made the economic situation very challenging. However, now the economy in Jakarta is starting to revive. "After the pandemic, the economy began to run and bounce back," he explained.

Another challenge faced by Jakarta when measuring the poverty rate is the relatively high mobility of the population, such as the many newcomers to Jakarta who do not have permanent jobs or workers who were affected by layoffs and their businesses were disrupted during the pandemic. It requires a solid strategy between the central and regional governments in synergizing population control policies, integrated data-based information systems, and synchronizing central-regional program targets, especially for Jakarta non-KTP residents.

According to data from Central Statistics Agency, Jakarta's poverty rate in March 2023 year on year (YoY) improved (4.44%) or as many as 24.21 thousand poor people were successfully eradicated. This performance improvement was influenced by productive economic activities that were increasingly active and poverty alleviation programs that were becoming more effective in Jakarta. The Jakarta Government continues to accelerate its efforts to achieve the target of accelerating the elimination of extreme poverty by 0% by 2024.

"BPS data shows a decrease in the poverty rate in Jakarta. This is a good thing and should be a trigger for the OPD, thus we in the Jakarta Government can hold it, thus we can hold on to the poverty line, not sink, and we can help them live their lives," he closed.