It was the first time Jokowi had distributed land certificates in Papua, which he has visited eight times in total since he was first elected President in 2014.

Yawa Bosway, a resident of Sarmi regency who attended the ceremony to receive a land certificate, expressed his gratitude for being able to get a certificate for his land without a complicated, costly process.

“I feel happy and want to thank Pak Jokowi because I have been able to receive this certificate so easily. My land in Sarmi is around 2,000 square meters or 2 hectares,” said Yawa.

At 3 p.m. local time on Wednesday, Jokowi and his entourage arrived at Sentani Airport in Jayapura, from where he proceeded to the Gunung Merah regent office, where thousands of residents had gathered and waited for his arrival for hours.

In the certificate handover ceremony, Jokowi told the residents that the certificates were proof of their land ownership. “By holding the certificates, we will feel more secure because the ownership right of our land has become clearer,” he said.

“I have ordered the Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister [Sofyan Djalil] to accelerate the distribution of land certificates in all provinces across Indonesia. In 2017, we gave 70,000 certificates to people in Papua and this year, we will increase it to 80,000. I hope this target can be met,” said Jokowi. (ebf)

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