Lowokwaru (malangkota.go.id) – The poverty rate in Malang City continues to decline from year to year. Although it was distracted by the global Covid-19 pandemic, which increased the poverty rate in 2020-2021, the following year the poverty rate continued to decline. Even in 2024, the poverty rate in Malang City was recorded at 3,91%, which is the lowest achievement in Malang City in the last decade. This figure is also much lower than the achievement of East Java at 9,79% and nationally at 9,03%.
Secretary of the Malang City Regional Planning and Development Agency (Bappeda) Tedy Sujadi Sumarna representing the Acting Mayor of Malang revealed that the Malang City Government has set a poverty reduction target in the 2024-2026 Regional Development Plan (RPD), which is 3,66-4,45%. "Although the target has been achieved, various strategies continue to be carried out to optimize the reduction in poverty rates," he explained at the 2024 Malang City Regional Poverty Alleviation Coordination Meeting at the Atria Hotel, Malang City, Tuesday (29/10/2024).
Tedy revealed that in the first semester of 2024, the poverty rate has reached the target, but his party is still trying to maintain and even try to reach the lowest figure of the target, which is 3,66%. The Malang City Government has allocated a budget for poverty alleviation in the 2024 budget revision of Rp638,922 billion.
"There are three poverty alleviation strategies, namely reducing the burden of community expenditure in meeting basic living needs, increasing community income, and reducing the number of poverty pockets. We need to put this strategy as a foundation for poverty alleviation," he explained.
In more detail, Tedy explained that the program to reduce the burden of community expenditure received the largest budget portion, namely IDR 555.922 billion, and was used for food assistance for neglected elderly people, assistance in paying health insurance contributions, and providing scholarships.
Meanwhile, Rp29,882 billion was used for programs aimed at increasing community income, such as skills training for various community groups and cooperative workshops. Furthermore, the program to reduce the number of poverty pockets received a portion of Rp40,911 billion which was realized by increasing access to basic services for the community, increasing connectivity between regions, and increasing program consolidation.
Furthermore, Tedy mentioned several strategic steps taken by the Malang City Government in order to eradicate poverty. The first is data strengthening, the Malang City Government utilizes the social welfare database as a basis for determining target data for implementing poverty alleviation programs. Not only that, the Malang City Government also strengthens internal collaboration to increase the role of the private sector through the Corporate Social Responsibility Forum (TSP).
"With the various efforts that we do collaboratively, we believe that Malang City will be more prosperous. With this coordination meeting, let us collaborate to find and implement solutions to overcome poverty in Malang City," he concluded. (ari/yn)
