Disaster insurance to be addressed at IMF-World Bank meetings in Bali

Amid recent devastating natural disasters experienced in the country in Lombok and Sulawesi, Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati is keeping talk relevant at the annual IMF-World Bank meetings being held in Bali this week.

Speaking through the Ministry of Finance’s YouTube channel on Monday, Mulyani said one of the topics she will be bringing up at the meetings in Bali will be disaster risk management and financing.

“I want this be one of the important events later in Bali”, Mulyani said, speaking in Indonesian.

At the event, the minister said disaster-prone countries could exchange ideas to find solutions to disaster management and financing.

After it was revealed last week that Indonesia’s tsunami detection buoy system hasn’t been operational since 2012, largely because of budget constraints, it’s become clear that the disaster-prone country, with its position on the Ring of Fire needs to be more prepared.

The IMF-World Bank meetings will be attended by international insurance and finance experts, as well as multilateral institutions who have a hand in the insurance industry, the minister said.

“We will use this event to exchange ideas, learn from each other,” Detik quoted Mulyani as saying.

Financial assistance for Lombok earthquake victims

Mulyani says the government is working on its budget for jaminan hidup (jadup), or financial aid for people affected by the earthquakes in Lombok. The funds will be limited to availability within the 2018 state budget.

Mulyani, visited Gunungsari, West Lombok on Monday, accompanied by IMF director, Christine Lagarde, as well as Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, and Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo.

“We are still verifying it. It could be that in one heavily damaged house, more than one family was living,” Mulyani, former managing director for the World Bank said on Monday.

The timeline is being prepared through the Ministry of Social Affairs and the payouts will only be given to families whose houses were severely damaged. The amount is IDR10k (US$0.66) per day.

Of 72,222 houses found to have been damaged in West Lombok regency, as many as 13,941 have been found to be “severely” damaged.

The money will be disbursed when evacuees return home, giving enough time for the budget to be prepared says Mulyani.

The minister says she regrets that the people of Lombok seem to have been overlooked after the earthquake and tsunami disasters that more recently occurred in Palu and Donggala, Central Sulawesi.

“Money for the Lombok earthquake remains for Lombok,” she said.

The minister added that the government will be stimulating economic revival on the island after the earthquake.

She also said that the Financial Services Authority (OJK) has been asked to provide loans and debt relief for earthquake affected victims.



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