Jakarta, May 11, 2017 (Antara) - Papua has received special attention from
President Joko Widodo (Jokowi). Soon after he was sworn in as Indonesian
president in October 2014, he visited the country's eastern-most
province in December.
During his first visit, he promised the Papuans that he would
frequently visit the province, and he also promised to build the
traditional Mama-Mama market into a modern market.
The
president has fulfilled his promises. Since his presidential
inauguration, he has visited Papua six times, including in May and
December 2015, and April and October 2016.
The latest visit was on May 19, 2017, which was part of his nation-wide
five-day tour that took him among other things to Aceh, South
Kalimantan, and North Maluku.
This time, he delivered another promise, namely the completion of the four-story Mama-Mama market.
The
market is in downtown Jayapura and is built on a plot of land measuring
4,490 square meters and can accommodate up to 300 vendors.
The market has modern facilities and is expected to attract domestic and foreign tourists to visit Papua Province.
Jowoki was accompanied by First Lady Iriana, State Enterprises (BUMN)
Minister Rini Soemarno, Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar
Parawansa, Minister of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Yohanna
Yembise, and Health Minister Nila Moeloek during his hour-long visit to
the market.
The President and his entourage walked to the market from the hotel where he was staying during his stay in the city.
The market, which is about 50 meters from the Aston Jayapura Hotel, was earlier an office and the Damri bus terminal.
Following his arrival at the market, Jokowi immediately received an
update from Minister Soemarno on the development of the market and then
inspected the stalls on the first floor and observed the facilities on
the second floor.
The construction of the market began on April 30, 2016, and has now been completed.
The market and its facilities are now ready to be used, President Jokowi said.
"The
most important thing is that it is now 100 percent ready, and training
is being continuously carried out," he was quoted as saying by Bey
Machmudin, head of the Press, Media and Information Bureau of the
Presidential Secretariat.
The inauguration of the market, however, awaits the installation of Jayapura's mayor.
The central government has handed over the operation of the market to the Papua provincial administration.
"The
inauguration of the market should be organized by the governor, and we
are waiting for the new mayor to be installed," the head of state noted.
The construction of the Mama-Mama Market supports the Women's
Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry's program to eradicate
economic injustice faced by women, the minister emphasized.
Minister Yembise, who is an indigenous Papuan, expressed hope that the
newly built Mama-Mama Market would help increase the income of mothers
in Papua.
"The
President hopes that this market will soon be used for the benefit of
mothers. We have also engaged in training women here, so that they can
produce Papua's main commodities that could be then sold in this market
or even outside Papua," Yembise stated, while accompanying the President
during the visit to the Mama-Mama Market.
During
his Papua visit, the President also officiated several projects,
including the construction of the 50-Megawatt (MW) feed gas-fired plant
(PLTMG), and the Integrated State Boundary Post in Skouw, Jayapura.
The
president vowed to build a market center soon for the local people in
Skouw, which shares its borders with Papua New Guinea (PNG).
"The
development of supporting facility will take place immediately around
the Skouw checkpoint," Jokowi remarked, adding that the border market
center will contribute to improving the welfare of the people.
Most of the buyers at the market are expected to be the inhabitants of Papua and PNG.
Meanwhile,
the development of five thousand traditional markets and modernizing of
the old ones are among the Jokowi administration's Nawacita (Nine
Priorities) program during his five-year term (2014-2019).
The
head of state called for transparent and professional management of the
traditional markets to boost their competitiveness and make them at par
with modern markets, such as malls and shopping centers.
The President urged vendors in newly built traditional market to maintain cleanliness and tidiness.
He hoped to put an end to the image that traditional markets are dirty and muddy places.
The
central government has planned to build at least 15 traditional markets
in Papua and West Papua Provinces, with the main objective of improving
the welfare of the local community. Markets are also expected to help
stabilize commodity prices in Papua.
Among the new markets will be Iriati Central Market in Wondama (West
Papua), Kenyam in Nduga (Papua), Mulia in Puncak Jaya (Papua), and
Tambaruni in Fak (West Papua), in addition to Elelim in Yalimo (Papua),
Waisei in Raja Empat (West Papua), Rufei in Sorong (West Papua), and
Kumurkek in Maybrat (West Papua). The other markets are Doyo Baru in
Sentani-Jayapura (Papua), Entrop in Jayapura, Wosi in Manokwari (West
Papua), Waropen in Papua, and Jibama in Jayawijaya (Papua), besides
Eiknemba in Intan Jaya (Papua), and Kaimana in West Papua. ***3***
(f001/INE)
EDITED BY INE
(T.F001/A/BESSR/A. Abdussalam) 11-05-2017
