Buleleng Poverty: Bali

By Barrie | October 18th, 2007 | No Comments

It is difficult to determine whether the poverty alleviation program in Buleleng regency has been successful, with related agencies providing conflicting data on the number of impoverished people in the area. Data from the Buleleng chapter of the National Family Planning Coordination Agency (BKKBN) indicates that low-income families in the regency number approximately 39,000.

However, Central Statistics Agency (BPS) data from 2005/2006 has the number of low-income families in the regency at well over 47,000.

Buleleng Villagers’ Empowerment Office head Ketut Wijana said neither figure was valid, as the exact number of economically disadvantaged families in the area was still being calculated.

“Bappeda (The Regional Development Planning Agency) is still processing the figures. The final figure from the validation team will be used by the regency to properly respond to poverty in Buleleng,” Wijana said Thursday.

Wijana said there were discrepancies in the data issued by both agencies, but that based on Bappeda’s data, the number of economically disadvantaged families in Buleleng had dropped in 2005/2006.

Bappeda sees low-income families as falling into three categories - those living on the poverty line, those living below the poverty line and those living well below the poverty line.

Of the total number of economically disadvantaged people in Buleleng, 8 percent are considered to be living on the poverty line according to Bappeda.

“The administration is determined to fight poverty. It cooperated with a women’s organization to provide training to people so they could improve their economic situation,” Wijana said.

He said families in the regency who were yet to receive assistance were not easily accessible due to the geographical location of their homes.

He also said many government officials did not care about poverty in the region and were not working to help low-income families.
The family of Nyoman Wangi, 56, who lives in Singaraja, are just one of many Buleleng families forced to live in poverty.

Nyoman, who is blind, lives with his wife and their small child. He also financially supports his sister, Putu Suci, 65, who is also blind.

To support his family, Nyoman makes ketupat (rice cooked in woven palm leaves), while his wife works as a cleaner.

When informed about Nyoman’s situation, Wijana said he was not aware that Buleleng residents lived in such poverty.

“Have you informed the local authorities about their situation and have they received health care or assistance from the government?” he asked.

“We will contact local officials to check on this case. The regional administration is working to effectively carry out the poverty alleviation program, but it does not cover health care and education,” he said.

Alit Kertaraharja