Ahead of the President’s Visit, The Minister of Social Affairs Checks the Readiness of Palu’s Permanent Housing

PALU (29 October 2019) - Starting his term of office, the Minister of Social Affairs Juliari P. Batubara flew to Palu, Central Sulawesi. The Minister of Social Affairs directly checked the readiness of the construction of permanent housing  for evacuees, before President Joko Widodo reviewed of this location in the next few days.

The construction of temporary shelters is part of the recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction phase after the earthquake, tsunami and liquefaction in the cities of Palu, Sigi, Donggala and Parigi Moutong, Central Sulawesi Province.

"I came to directly check the progress of the construction of temporary shelters for victims of the earthquake, tsunami and liquefaction. This is part of the steps to prepare plans for the President's visit to Palu," said the Minister of Social Affairs, in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Tuesday (29/10/2019).

During his visit, the Minister of Social Affairs inspected three locations namely the Tatura Palu National Heroes Cemetery (TMPN), a permanent residential location in Duyu Village, Tatanga District, and reviewed the construction of permanent housing at the relocation site in Tondo Village, Matikulore District.

During this visit, the Minister of Social Affairs was accompanied by the Director General of Social Empowerment Pepen Nazaruddin, the Director General of Social Protection and Security Harry Hikmat, and the Minister's Expert Staff for Social Accessibility who is also Acting Head Public Relations Sonny W Manalu.

The Social Minister looks seriously checking the physical readiness of the building. He asked how far the readiness of supporting facilities for the house was. He asked the officers in detail about things such as the supply of clean water, availability of toilets, and to what extent they could function properly.

For information, the Ministry of Social Affairs has distributed a number of aids to survivors of the earthquake, liquefaction and tsunami in Central Sulawesi Province. Assistance was provided in the form of logistical assistance during the emergency response period, compensation for heirs, and life insurance assistance.

The Ministry of Social Affairs has distributed compensation to heirs whose families have died as a result of the disaster to 1,906 people, with an index of IDR 15,000,000 per person.

"The total compensation that has been distributed is IDR 28,590,000,000," said the Minister of Social Affairs. In detail, the heirs' unit for Palu City, compensation was distributed to 1,383 people with a total value of IDR 20,745,000,000. In Sigi as many as 378 people with a value of Rp. 5,670,000,000, Donggala as many as 130 people with a value of Rp. 1,950,000,000, and Parigi Moutong as many as 15 people with a value of Rp. 225,000,000.

For life insurance, it is given to refugees in the amount of IDR 10,000 per day per person for 60 days, after going through verification by the local government. The Ministry of Social Affairs has provided life insurance assistance to 15,949 families (63,891 people) with a total value of IDR 38,334,600,000.

In detail, in Palu there are 10,581 families (39,400 people) worth IDR 23,640,000,000. In Sigi, it was realized for 4,177 families (15,191 people) with a value of IDR 9,114,600,000. Then in Donggala to 1,191 families (9,300 people) with a value of IDR 5,580,000,000.

In addition, the Ministry of Social Affairs also received proposals for life insurance requests from Sigi Regency for 15,636 families (53,514 people) with a total value of IDR 32,108,400,000. The proposal was submitted to the Ministry of Social Affairs based on the Letter of the Regent of Sigi Number 367-453 of 2019 dated 7 October 2019 and the Letter of the Regent of Sigi Number 367-453 of 2019 dated 17 October 2019.

In addition to monitoring the progress of post-disaster management, the Minister of Social Affairs also reviewed the implementation of the rehabilitation of the Tatura National Heroes Cemetery (TMPN), Palu, Central Sulawesi, which was damaged by the 7.4 magnitude earthquake and the 2018 Sulawesi tsunami.

Rehabilitation is part of the TMPN treatment which is also a manifestation of the spirit of appreciating the services of National Heroes. The TMPN Tatura rehabilitation component consists of side fence rehabilitation, gate and embossed lettering work, gazebo work, inner fence painting work, 2 units of warehouse painting work, and so on.

According to the Minister of Social Affairs, now the spirit of heroism needs to be revived, in line with the increasingly strong current challenges, especially facing the challenges of technological advances. Even though technology brings benefits, said the Minister of Social Affairs, it can also have negative impacts if it is not addressed properly.

“Due to the many information channels, the focus of the younger generation is now divided. So the task of the Ministry of Social Affairs and all components of the nation need to increase the cultivation of a heroic spirit," said the Minister of Social Affairs.

Acting Head of the Public Relation Bureau of the Ministry of Social Affairs

Sonny W Manalu