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Vice President Boediono said on Friday that he would lead a new government body formed specifically to tackle poverty.

“To implement efforts to overcome poverty there will be a special body, to be named the National Committee for Poverty Alleviation, and I will be its chair,” he told a news conference at the Vice Presidential Palace.

The news conference, Boediono’s first as the new vice president, was aimed at explaining the various programs to be carried out by the government during the first 100 days in office and over the next five years.

Boediono said there would be several changes with regard to poverty alleviation efforts. As an example, he said the existing direct cash assistance program would be improved.

“It would not be in the form of a cash handout, but would be distributed upon certain conditions,” he said.

The role of subdistrict-based health care centers (Puskesmas), he said, would be boosted to cover not only treatment for the sick, but also to conduct preventive programs.

Boediono said assistance would be provided on a needs basis. If a poor family needed assistance for children’s schooling, he said, the government would give education aid, while it would help cover medical costs for families in need of health assistance. “The key is a clear goal in terms of needs and targeting people,” he said.

In order to acquire these targets, Boediono said complete and up-to-date data would be needed. Therefore the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) was currently creating a comprehensive new database of poor families, he added.

“There will be a nationwide database covering subdistricts, villages, neighborhoods and families,” he said.

The vice president also said the government expected to boost the country’s economic growth beyond 7 percent, while the unemployment rate was anticipated to drop to 5 or 6 percent from its current 8.1 percent.

The government, he claimed, would also curb the number of people living below the poverty line to 8 or 10 percent, down by as much as 6 percent from current levels.

To achieve the confident vision, Boediono said an investment of up to Rp 2,000 trillion ($212 billion) a year would be needed, with 15 to 19 percent of that coming from the national budget, and the rest from private or foreign parties.

The vice president’s statement follows President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s announcement on Thursday of his new administration’s priorities for its first 100 days in office.

Eradicating the country’s “judicial mafia” topped the list, followed by the revitalization of the defense industry, combating terrorism, electricity generation, and food production and security.

Economic priorities, such as the revitalization of the fertilizer and sugar industry, infrastructure development and boosting lending to small and medium enterprises, were also part of 15 priorities laid out for the first 100 days.

Antara, JG