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mid a silent protest at the lack of a Batak figure in the new Cabinet, President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo is set to visit evacuees of the eruption of Mount Sinabung in Karo regency, North Sumatra, on Wednesday.

The regency will be his first official stop after being sworn in as the country'€™s seventh president last week. He previously visited Mt. Sinabung evacuees during his presidential campaign.

On Tuesday, Jokowi held a meeting with former National Team for the Acceleration of Poverty Reduction (TNP2K) secretary Bambang Widianto and Bank Mandiri president director Budi Gunadi Sadikin to discuss methods of disbursing financial aid to the evacuees.

'€œThe President wants a different mechanism to distribute [financial aid], which will use SIM cards that can be used with or without cell phones. The funds can be withdrawn through post offices and agents such as Indomaret [minimarkets],'€ Bambang said after the meeting at the presidential compound.

He said Jokowi would fly to Sinabung on Wednesday at around 7 a.m. to hand out financial assistance to around 3,500 households.

Bambang said Jokowi would use tactical presidential funds worth Rp 2 billion (US$165,084) a month for the plan.

Data from the Karo administration showed that the number of evacuees living in 12 shelters currently stands at 3,287 people, or 1,019 families. They have been living in refuges for the past year.

Acting Karo regent Terkelin Brahmana said the President would be in Karo for three hours and would meet evacuees at three shelters, namely the Batak Protestant Church (GBKP) on Jl. Kutacane, the GBKP on Jl. Markas Kodim and the Indonesian National Youth Committee (KNPI) Karo chapter building.

'€œFor Karo residents, this is very surprising, especially because this is Bapak Joko Widodo'€™s first official visit after being sworn in as president last week,'€ Terkelin said.

North Sumatra Governor Gatot Pujo Nugroho said that relocation efforts were still being hampered by a lack of access to areas that had been allocated as relocation sites, as road construction in forested areas must first obtain approval from the Forestry Ministry.

As of Tuesday, Mt. Sinabung continued to emit pyroclastic flows and spew ash up to 2,000 meters into the air.

Bukit Barisan Military Command chief Maj. Gen. Winston P. Simanjuntak said 2,500 personnel from the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the police would be deployed to secure the visit.

Winston expressed his hope that the community in North Sumatra would assist security personnel in maintaining safety during the presidential visit.