Bali Governor Urged Central Government To Give More Attention To Economic Crisis

Share The Article

The Bali Provincial government has urged the central government to give more attention to the current economic condition that Bali has been facing since the Covid-19 pandemic struck.

Bali Governor, I Wayan Koster urged the central government to find solutions for the current crisis that most of the people in Bali have been facing during the Covid-19 pandemic. “As the province that had the biggest financial contribution with foreign exchange before the pandemic struck, I just want to remind them not to leave us behind during these tough times.” Koster said at Apurva Kempinski, Nusa Dua on Friday (9/4).

Koster urged the central government to provide assistance that would significantly help the economy to recover. “Many of our people in the tourism sector have been suffering. Tourism workers getting laid-off because the businesses were not capable of paying their salary, many of them even decided to close their operations. People in Bali have been patiently waiting, but we don’t know how much longer we can keep waiting for this uncertainty.” Koster added.

Koster explained that Bali had contributed around 29% of the total national foreign exchange earnings during normal conditions like in 2019 from the tourism sector. “I hope the central government can provide some assistance such as a soft loan program to the tourism sector in Bali like the hotels and restaurants to help them open during the pandemic.” Koster concluded. Koster is also optimistic that the situation will get better and probably back to normal again by 2023, and the businesses could eventually pay off their loans in the future.