Home Minister Mardiyanto asked the new governor and vice governor of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) to pay more attention to poverty, a persistent problem in the nation's least-developed province.
The minister made the request when swearing in Frans Leburaya, as governor, and Esthon Foennay, as vice governor, for the period from 2008 to 2013. Frans and Esthon were nominated by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and won a majority victory in the province's first-ever direct gubernatorial election last month.
Mardiyanto alerted the new governor to numerous social problems affecting the majority of the province's four million inhabitants.
In addition to a yearly per capita income of Rp 1.3 million (US$141) -- or less than US$1 a day -- NTT suffers from inadequate education and health services. Lacking natural resources, the province's economy has depended on agriculture, fishing and copra. According to data from the Central Statistics Agency, NTT's unemployment rate has reached 30 percent, mostly due to infertile land and lack of human resources.
The predominantly Catholic province also faces numerous, related health problems including high infant mortality, malnutrition and hunger caused, in part, by drought, which claimed the lives of 23 toddlers in the first semester of this year.
Mardiyanto also expressed his hope that the new governor would guarantee transparency in the management of public funds, promote good governance, uphold the rule of law, and eradicate corruption.
Most of the province's population has placed hope in the duo who, during their political campaign, pledged to make poverty alleviation their top priority.
Political analyst Nicolaus Pira Bunga, of Nusa Cendana University in Kupang, said the new governor should concentrate on implementing concrete measures over the next five years to alleviate poverty and improve the province's quality of human resources.
"Never leave the people behind, as their prosperity is the highest law with which a leader must comply," he said.
During their campaign, Frans and Esthon highlighted the importance of fair distribution of development results.
"We will develop Sumba and the Timor Islands as production centers for livestock and economically precious sandalwood, while Flores, Lembata, Alor and Rote Ndao will be developed into horticultural and agricultural centers," Esthon said.
Developing superior commodities would automatically reduce problems related to poverty, lack of development and malnutrition, he added.
"NTT is actually not poor. It is rich in natural resources, but has suffered from a lack of attention. We will do our best for the province," he said.
Frans and Esthon are humble figures because the programs they offered would be directed at the people's needs, Nicolaus said.
They should remember to make their programs reality or they will face apathy from their constituents, he added.
Nicolaus also suggested the new governor pay attention to programs introduced by candidates defeated in the gubernatorial election.
