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Edition #31: January 20 2010
Note: All the items from the Pos Kupang below are summary translations from the Indonesian by the editor (Denis Fisher). Thus they should not be regarded as literal translations, though the editor takes pains not to go beyond the meaning and nuances in the original articles.   Any comments, suggestions or feedback on this clipping service are most welcome and should be sent to d-dfisher@homemail.com.au. If you wish to subscribe to this service, please email the editor at the above address.

Items of General Interest
|  Earthquakes Hit NTT Area
|  Earthquake Shakes Kupang
|  Dozens Wounded in Kupang Clash
|  Frans Seda Dies at 83
|  Earthquake in Sea North of NTT
General Economic and Development Issues
|  A Time to Stand Firm and Act
|  NTT 51 Years On: A Moment of Reflection
|  Development Has Not Yet Taken Root
|  NTT To Be Part of Projected “Economic Corridors”
Health Issues
|  Diarrhoea Kills Five in West Timor
|  Maumere Hospital Struggling to Cope
|  Filariasis Afflicts People on Flores
|  Rabies Endemic in East Manggarai
|  Kupang Hospital Treats Cases of Dengue Fever and Diarrhoea
|  Cases of Dengue Fever and Diarrhoea in Atambua
|  Deaths From Diarrhoea in West Timor
Education Issues
[None for this edition]
Primary Industries (Agriculture, Fisheries, Livestock, Mining)
|  NTT Faces Manganese Mining Time Bomb
Infrastructure (Water, Roads, Electricity)
|  32% of NTT Villages in the Dark
|  Reticulated Water Project Complete, But No Water
|  Village Near Kupang Lacks Water Supply
                                        

Items of General Interest

Earthquakes Hit NTT Area
The Jakarta Post, 28/11/10 (abridged version of original)
An earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale hit Waingapu, East Sumba, at 1 PM on 28/11.  The quake was immediately followed by a 5.1-magnitude quake. The BMKG reported that the epicenter of both quakes was 50 kms below the surface of the earth 194 kms southwest of Waingapu.  No injuries or damaged have been reported.  Earlier in the day, three earthquakes, measuring between 5.1 and 5.3 on the Richter scale shook the area at 06:36 a.m., 07:04 a.m. and 11:25 a.m. The epicenters of the earthquakes were also located southwest of Waingapu.  Earlier this year, a tectonic earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale shook Kupang.

Earthquake Shakes Kupang 
Jakarta Post, 15/12/09 (abridged version of original)
Kupang: An earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale shook Kupang on 14/12. The epicenter of the quake was 19 kilometers southeast of Kupang and 10 kilometers underground. BMG spokesman in Kupang, Margiono, said the earthquake had not caused any tsunamis. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

Dozens Wounded in Kupang Clash
Jakarta Post, 20/12/09 
Dozens of people were wounded, two of them in a critical condition, when a clash broke out between local residents and former East Timor refugees in the village of Oebelo, Central Kupang Kecamatan,  Kupang Municipality on 20/12.  At least five houses were burned down while the main road connecting Kupang and Atambua is being blockaded by the two warring groups. Tension has gripped the town despite the local police's efforts to restore peace and order. The security authorities have not given any official statement concerning the violence.

Frans Seda Dies at 83
Jakarta Post, 31/12/09  
Former finance minister F X Seda, more popularly known as Frans Seda, died on in the morning of 31/12. He was 83.  Born in Flores (NTT) on 4/10/26, Frans Seda was finance minister from 1966 to 1968. Then, he was appointed minister of communications and tourism from 1968 to 1973. Before that, he served as plantations minister under the first president Soekarno from 1963 to 1964.

Earthquake in Sea North of NTT
Kupang Post, 5/1/10
The BMKG has reported that an earthquake measuring 5 on the Richter occurred early am on 5/1 with its epicenter 145 kms northeast of Ruteng, Manggarai Kabupaten (on Flores) and at a depth of 517 kms.  It was not big enough to trigger a tsunami.
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General Economic and Development Issues

A Time to Stand Firm and Act
Kupang Post, 17/12/09, Editorial   
For years now NTT has been branded as the poor province, dry and desolate and hard to develop.  And its people have been said to lack the work ethic necessary to progress.  Is all this true? We have to address it.                                                                                  
   No one can deny that NTT is naturally very rich.  Look at mining (e.g. manganese), the varied produce of our plantations (coffee, cloves, vanilla, cashews etc), our agricultural output (in areas such as Lembor, Mbay, Lurasik and Sumba) and the potential of our seas (e.g. edible seaweed). We have a lot to be proud of.  Indeed, if we made optimal use of our potential, we could not only meet our own needs but have an excess to send to other areas.   
   But, amid all our potential, the level of our development and public welfare are way below what we should expect.  We don’t know why that is. But, if we reflect on our history, we see that there have been many real success stories, in various fields of endeavour, coming out of NTT.  We should look at those success stories (and the KP does its best to publicize them), as they provide us with useful benchmarks for our own efforts to succeed.  The stories show that NTT’s challenging physical environment should not lead us to give up, but rather stimulate us to acquire the extra skills needed to make the most of the opportunities NTT offers.   Our challenging environment should stir us into action and make us more determined and creative in our efforts. If we continue to be apathetic and simply resort to rehearsing the litany of the difficulties we face, we will be hard-pressed to change anything in our situation.

NTT 51 Years On: A Moment of Reflection   
Kupang Post, 19/12/09 Editorial 
NTT’s 51st birthday on 20/12 warrants a moment of reflection on what those years have achieved.  We have certainly made progress but key indicators are concerning: e.g. 23% or our population of 4.4m are poor, unemployment stands at around 4%, annual per capita income was Rp4.4 m (±US440) in 2008 and our economy grew at 4.8% in 2008/9. NTT ranks 31st on Indonesia’s provincial Development Index, indicating that life expectancy and levels of health and knowledge/education are still unsatisfactory. For example, many of NTT’s children still cannot afford to go to school at all.  Many of our people have inadequate health facilities, many others no access to fresh drinking water, a sine qua non for good health. In some areas the government gives the impression of not caring about providing fresh drinking water.  Then there are those in remote areas who are hardly touched by development and cannot even transport what they produce to places where they can sell it.   
   For its part, the government continues to broadcast high sounding messages about development. But much of what it says remains just words.  For example, it has waged a campaign on increasing NTT’s maize production, but it has not yet even mapped out the areas which would be most suited to intensive maize growing.

Development Has Not Yet Taken Root  
Kupang Post, 8/1/10 Editorial 
Ceremonies held around this time marking the handover of general budgetary (DAU) allocations for 2010 to those responsible for spending them offer a good occasion to review the effectiveness of the expenditure of those funds. NTT’s total DAU for 2010 amounts to Rp.6.4 trillion (±US$693 m), which is divvied up among the administrative districts in accord with various regions’ population, area etc. The sad fact is that, despite these injections of money every year, NTT remains the same old dry area with rain for only 3 months a year, limited land, sea and air transportation, widespread grinding poverty, various health problems and a range of other issues.  Most development that is occurring is benefitting only certain groups and, strikingly, is contributing to the emergence of a group of nouveau riche. Government officials should not merely mouth grandiose words about development.  Nor should they use their positions of power to improve their own situation and that of their cronies.  Creative approaches are needed to solve NTT’s specific set of problems.  Admittedly most of the DAU goes to paying civil servants and meeting routine costs, with little left over for development.  But greater efforts need to be made to put the funds to good use so that development can take root from at the village level for the benefit of ordinary people.

NTT To Be Part of Projected “Economic Corridors”
Jakarta Post, 12/1/10 (abridged version of original article) 
Indonesia is ready to offer Japan two economic corridors, which will connect hubs and industries between regions to accelerate infrastructure development, foster foreign investment and spur Indonesia’s economic growth.  Indonesia has identified six economic corridors — Eastern Sumatra-North West Java, Northern Java, Kalimantan, Western Sulawesi, East Java-Bali-East Nusa Tenggara and Papua — which will be prioritized for economic development, Deddy S. Priyatna, deputy minister of state for national development planning, said on 11/1 after meeting Japanese officials. 
   “North Java and Sumatra are our priorities,” he said, although he did indicate that priorities could shift following a planned meeting in Japan between Indonesian and Japanese businesses in March.
   Each of these corridors has its own focus industries. The Eastern Sumatra-North West Java corridor, for example, has palm oil, rubber and coal as its focus industries. The North Java corridor will focus on textiles, food products and transport equipment industries.“The investment mechanism will be in the form of public-private partnerships,” said Deddy.  
   Deputy Transportation Minister Bambang Susantono said areas in the economic corridors might eventually be similar to special economic zones, offering incentives for businesses operating there.  Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa told a press conference the planned development of the six economic corridors throughout the country would go ahead under the Indonesian Economic Development Corridor (IEDC) project through public-private partnerships. “Both the Indonesian and Japanese governments have recognized the importance of the IEDC project, which aims at the comprehensive development of industries and infrastructure,” Hatta said.
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Health Issues

Diarrhoea Kills Five in West Timor
Kupang Post, 28/12/10
Soe: Diarrhoea has again claimed lives in South Central Timor Kabupaten.  After killing 5 residents of West Mollo Kecamatan at the beginning of December, this time it has struck 3 villagers in North Mollo Kecamatan.  The deceased (aged 45, 52 and 72), who died on 26/12, are thought to have been infected after consuming meat left over from a wedding celebrated on 23/12.  According to the camat of North Mollo, Rongky Membait, 57 people in the area had been identified as suffering the symptoms of diarrhoea. Of those 5 had been taken to RSUD in Soe, 6 had been treated at nearby health centres, while the others had been attended to as outpatients. Health staff were still on the spot treating those affected.

Maumere Hospital Struggling to Cope
Kupang Post, 6/1/10
Maumere: The director of the TC Hilliers RSUD in Maumere (Sikka Kabupaten (on Flores)), Dr Asep Purnama, has apologized to the community because of unavailability of beds in the hospital due to the need in recent weeks to accommodate a larger than usual number of people (many of them children) infected with dengue fever (with some cases of diarrhoea and malaria).  He said that the hospital would give the best service possible to all comers, despite the lack of beds for inpatient treatment.  Data obtained by KP indicated that in December one person had died of dengue.

Filiariasis Afflicts People on Flores
Kupang Post, 10/1/10
Mbay: 21 residents of Wolowae Kecamatan, Nagekeo Kabupaten (on Flores) have tested positive to the debilitating disease known as Filariasis or Elephantiasis. The head of Wolowae puskesmas, Adrianus Lebhe, told KP on 9/1 that, unlike malaria and dengue, filariasis could be transmitted by a wide range of species of mosquitoes (possibly as many as 23). (The KP story gives details of the plight on a couple of elderly villagers suffering the full effects of the disease – Ed.) Lebhe explained that, as it took around 20 years for the disease to develop fully, those with the full-blown disease were normally elderly people.  He said tests were still being conducted in Jakarta, but it was hoped to be able to prevent the spread of the disease, particularly to the younger generation.

Rabies Endemic in East Manggarai
Kupang Post, 11/1/10
Borong: Rabies is now endemic in East Manggarai Kabupaten (on Flores).  The head of the local Health Service, Dr Philipus Mantur, told KP on 8/1 that during 2009 there had been 91 cases of people being bitten by rabid dogs (one of whom had died).   The root causes of the situation were a general ignorance about the dangers of rabies and the local practice of people to keep several dogs as pets without caring properly for them.  To try to control the situation, the bupati had recently issue a directive which explained the lethal nature of rabies and stipulated that no household should keep more than two dogs, which must be yarded and taken to the Animal Health Service to be vaccinated; stray dogs would be put down; and people bitten by a dog should be taken immediately to a health centre.

Kupang Hospital Treats Cases of Dengue Fever and Diarrhoea
Kupang Post, 12/1/10
Kupang: So far this year 26 dengue fever victims and 24 people suffering from diarrhoea have been admitted to Kupang Base Hospital (RSU).  Of those 8 dengue patients and 12 with diarrhoea were still in hospital on 12/1.  One person is also being treated for malnutrition.  Looking back at the year just passed, an RSU spokesman told KP on 11/1 that during 2009 the hospital had treated 113 people with dengue fever (with no deaths);  1 669 patients suffering from diarrhoea (of whom 19 had died); and 129 cases of malnutrition (of which 10 had died).

Cases of Dengue Fever and Diarrhoea in Atambua
Kupang Post, 12/1/10
Atambua; The director of the Base Hospital (RSUD) in Atambua (Belu Kabupaten, West Timor), Dr Jhon Taolin, told KP on 11/1 that his hospital had treated many cases of dengue fever and diarrhoea over recent weeks, many as outpatients. Most of those treated had recovered and gone home.  At present there were ten people in hospital with dengue and 4 with diarrhoea.  He attributed these illnesses to poor living conditions. He urged people to take particular care right now of their diet and the cleanliness of their surrounds.

Deaths From Diarrhoea in West Timor 
Jakarta Post, 13/1/10  
Kupang: At least five people are reported to have died of diarrhoea in South Central Timor Kabupaten over the past week. The head of the kabupaten’s health service, Yuli Butu, said on 12/1 that dozens of local residents had also been treated for the ailment at health centres and hospitals. She added that a medical team had been deployed to the affected area. Hundreds of infants are also reported to be suffering from diarrhoea and dengue fever in Kupang, Belu, Sikka and Alor.
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Education Issues

[None for this edition]
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Primary Industries

NTT Faces Manganese Mining Time Bomb
Jakarta Post, 11/12/09 by Yemris Foituna (slightly edited version of original – Ed.)
Kupang:  Manganese mining in NTT, carried out by 232 companies and thousands of independent miners, has reportedly damaged thousands of hectares of forests, plantations and farmland, a forum has heard.   The damage could have a detrimental impact on people's livelihoods, since most of the miners failed to carry out reclamation, Rev. Sri Ledoh, the service coordinator of the West Fatuleu parish of the Gereja Masehi Injili church in Timor, said at a forum titled "Mining Problematics" held in Kupang recently. According to Ledoh, many residents in Fatuleu district, , who were previously farmers and raised livestock, had now taken to mining for manganese. "They probably earn more from manganese, so they move away from farming. I'm afraid of what will happen should productive farmland be exploited for mining. These new miners are also unaware of safety considerations when mining," Ledoh said.  
   Ledoh said a food crisis may be imminent, citing the residents' preference to mining for manganese that they could sell for Rp 1,000 (about 10 US cents) per kilogram rather than preparing their farms and rice fields for the next planting season. "Four residents of Fatuleu district were buried alive in a tunnel while mining for manganese a few weeks ago. If mining is not curbed during the rainy season, many more residents could become victims," he added. 
   Forum participant Noverius H. Nggili said based on a survey and studies conducted at a number of mining sites, independent miners were vulnerable to pneumoconiosis, or miner's asthma and other respiratory diseases through inhaling manganese dust for extended periods. This can lead to impotence. "Miner's asthma is very dangerous because it is incurable. A sufferer could die in a short time. The surroundings will also be damaged because most of the miners fail to reclaim the site after exploiting it," Noverius warned.   
The head of the NTT energy and mining resources office, Bria Yohanes, said his office faced an uphill struggle to curb mining activities because the government was still in the middle of amending two mining laws covering mining regulation, and specifically, mining of coal and minerals.        
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Infrastructure

32% of NTT Villages in the Dark
Jakarta Post, 12/11/09 by Yemris Foituna
Kupang: At least 1,600 of around 2,500 villages in NTT have no access to electricity, NTT Governor Lebu Raya told a seminar on renewable energy in Kupang on  12/11. 
Without electricity, most villages in the province had limited access to information and were economically disadvantaged, he said. At 32%, NTT had the lowest electricity coverage among the country’s 33 provinces, below the national figure of 50 percent. The province had 566 islands and had the potential to use renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind and hydroelectric power. Unfortunately, no initiatives had been undertaken to make these energy sources viable, the governor said.  
A presidential decree stipulates the use of renewable energy at the national level should reach 1.4 percent by 2025. S. Januwarsono, PLN’s general manager in Kupang, said most villages in NTT had no access to electricity due to their remote locations.

Reticulated Water Project Complete, But No Water
Kupang Post, 21/12/09
Kefamenanu: 2 000 residents of the villages of Tes and Napan, North Bikomi Kecamatan, North Central Timor Kabupaten, can’t believe their bad luck.  By now they should have been enjoying fresh water from a reticulated water project (costing Rp450m (±US$50 000) which was completed in their villages in 2008, but not a drop of water is coming out of the system.  There is disappointment all round: from the villagers, to the camat (Yuwen Kabelen), to several DPRD members who were aghast when they recently visited the site, up to the head of the Kabupaten’s Public Works Service (Willem Teti).  According to Teti, the contractor simply got it all wrong, as they surveyed available water resources in the wet season, rather than the dry.  As a result they built the water reservoirs in an area where there is no water in the dry season. One puzzled villager commented to KP that he could not understood why the reservoirs were on top of a hill, while the water source to be tapped was at the bottom of the hill. So the villagers had no alternative but to fetch water in jerry cans from down the hill.  Teti told KP that he would be submitting a proposal to Jakarta which would hopefully lead to the building of pipes to Tes and Napan from a nearby more elevated area where water was available (a project he estimated would cost Rp6 billion (±US$650 000)).

Villagers Walk 3 km To Fetch Water   
Timor Express, 20/10/09
Kupang: Some 2 000 residents of Nekmese village, South Amaransi Kecamatan, Kupang Kabupaten are facing serious water problems similar to those experienced every dry season.  In the absence of reticulated water, they are able to draw limited amounts of water for drinking and cooking from village wells, though the water quality in those is currently very poor.  But water for other purposes (washing, bathing etc) has to be collected from a water source 3 kms away.  The villagers also face considerable transportation problems given the very poor quality of the road to their village, a situation inhibiting their ability to market their agricultural produce.

Village Near Kupang Lacks Water Supply
Kupang Post,  9/1/10
Kupang:  Residents of parts of the village of Penfui Timur, Central Kupang Kecamatan, Kupang Kabupaten, have resorted to buying water because they have no natural water source of their own.  In 2007 the villagers skimped and saved to sink a bore of their own, but abandoned the idea when no accessible water resource was found.  Tanked in water is now their only option.  As many of the villagers provide lodgings for students, they use a lot of water, which costs each household some Rp1.5m (±US$165) per month.  The access road to the village is also a major problem, becoming almost impassable in the wet season.  The villagers are looking to the government to fix the problems.  Although near the provincial capital, they feel left behind in the development process.
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