Jakarta, June 15 (Antara) - The government is expected to begin soon
distributing temporary direct cash assistance (BLSM) to 15.4 million
target families if the House endorses the government's plan to raise
subsidized fuel oil prices on Monday.
The direct cash handout still awaits subsidized fuel oil price hikes
but it is expected to begin this month, a member of the House of
Representatives (DPR)'s Commission VI Atte Sugandi said.
"Cards for BLSM recipients are still under printing process. They will
be distributed to target families before they receive the assistance.
The assistance itself will be distributed at the end of June or early in
July 2013 after the government announces the fuel oil price increases,"
Atte Sugandi said in North Sumatra on Friday.
Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources Jero Wacik said on Wednesday
that the fuel oil prices would be raised as soon as the House approved
the draft revised state budget during its plenary on Monday (June 17,
2013).
He said that the government has prepared a number of compensation
programs for poor people who would be affected by the fuel oil price
hikes. This is because price increase was expected to increase inflation
by 1.7 percent.
"If the DPR plenary session runs smoothly and endorses the revised
draft budget on June 17, 2013, the government will directly announce
subsidized fuel oil price hikes," the minister said.
The House has approved a fund of amounting to Rp9.3 trillion for
temporary direct assistance which would be distributed for four months
to 15.5 million target families. Each family will receive Rp150,000
every month.
The
House Budgetary Body endorsed Rp9.32 trillion as temporary direct cash
assistance for poor families on Thursday. "The assistance will be
provided in four stages at the end of July and September after Lebaran
(post-fasting month of Ramadhan festivities)," Chairman of the
House Budgetary Body Ahmadi Noor Supit said during a meeting with the
government and the working committee (Panja).
Thus, the Panja meeting cut the government's proposed Rp11.6 trillion
by Rp2.31 trillion. The government has proposed Rp11.6 trillion to the
House and planned to provide the assistance for five months.
Of the Rp2.31 trillion balance, Rp360 billion will be used to finance
the assistance distribution operations, Rp500 billion
for infrastructure, Rp196.4 billion for other urgent needs and Rp1.25
trillion for basic rural infrastructure development.
"The other urgent need is the need for additional funds by the General
Elections Commission which had asked for additional budget," said
Ahmadi.
The
number of recipients did not change from the government's proposal
namely 15.5 million target families with a monthly assistance of
Rp150,000 for each family for four months.
Finance
Minister Basri Chatib said there was no problem if the BLSM was to be
provided only in four stages, or months because it was still within the
estimate of the government.
"It is still within the range but if it is cut further it would create a
problem because empirically the effect of a fuel oil price hike lasts
for four months," he said.
In 2008, the government also extended similar assistance called BLT
(direct cash assistance). Around 19.1 million poor families throughout
Indonesia received a cash assistance of Rp100,000 each plus cooking oil
and sugar packages per month in compensation for increased price of
goods following the government's decision to raise domestic fuel oil
prices.
For the BLT program, the government earmarked Rp41.1 trillion for distribution to the poor beginning in June 2008.
On Thursday, the House's working committee meeting also approved Rp7.5
trillion allocation assistance for students belonging to poor families
(BSM) and Rp4.3 trillion for rice for the poor (Raskin).
It also increased the village infrastructure development program from Rp6 trillion to Rp7.25 trillion.
"For the development and expansion of basic infrastructure in rural
areas, the House agrees that each village obtains Rp250 million," Ahmadi
said.
Eight House factions agreed the results of the Panja meeting, including
the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) faction. The PKS has been reported
so far that it would not agree with the government's plan to raise
subsidized fuel prices.
In addition, the faction of the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party
of Struggle (PDIP) rejected the formulation, handed a notice that the
BLSM should be provided only for three months.
The results of the Panja meeting will be taken to the final working
meeting with the government on Saturday and it is expected that the
draft 2013 revised state budget would be approved by the House in its
plenary on Monday (June 17).
Maruarar Sirait, a member of the House's Budgetary Body from the PDIP,
said on Saturday the DPR plenary on Monday would likely use the voting
mechanism to decide on the draft 2013 revised state budget.
"We predict that the draft revised budget would pass the voting
mechanism because not all factions in the House have the same stance,"
Maruarar Sirait told a discussion on "Polemics on the Benefit of
Subsidy" here on Saturday.
Maruarar said not all of the nine factions in the House share the same
stance with that of the ruling Democratic Party (PD) faction regarding
the government's plan to increase subsidized fuel oils.
The PDIP faction, he said, has its own proposal in the revised state
budget, among others, the government needs not raise subsidized fuel oil
prices because it could save on other budget entries.
"The PDIP faction has its own calculation for the government's proposed
draft 2013 revised state budget. But because we have differences in the
calculation we will ask the House to use voting mechanism," he said.
In the meantime, economic analyst Wahyu Ario Pratomo of North Sumatra
said if the House endorsed the BLSN, the government should tightly
supervise its distribution so it would reach its correct targets.
"If the assistance is off target, it will become useless and the poor
people will suffer from the impact of fuel oil price hikes. This could
in the end create social unrest," Wahyu said.***3***
(T.A014/H-YH)
(T.SYS/A/A. Abdussalam/A/Yosep) 15-06-2013 19:08 |
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