GOVT TO COMPLETE FIRST PHASE OF SOCIAL ASSISTANCE DISTRIBUTION

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Feb 27 (Antara) - The government that is committed to providing social assistance to at least 15 million underprivileged families this year has targeted to complete the first phase of distribution of the assistance scheme in February 2018.          In a bid to boost the prosperity of Indonesia's underprivileged families, the government has been implementing various schemes of social affairs assistance that it will distribute in four stages.          "We have set February 2018 as the deadline for completing the distribution of the first phase of the assistance," Social Affairs Minister Idrus Marham noted while delivering the assistance in North Sumatra on Friday (Feb 23).          According to the minister, the government has also vowed to ensure that the assistance will reach the intended beneficiary families (KPM). He made this statement while handing over the same assistance in Cirebon, West Java, on Monday (Feb 25).          He said the government will ensure that all social assistance schemes, such as the Family Hope Program (PKH), Cashless Food Assistance (BPNT), and Rice Social Assistance (Rastra), reach the right KPM.          "I am assigned by the president to check directly whether the aid reaches the intended recipients (KPM). It should not happen that the eligible beneficiaries did not receive the assistance," Marham noted during the distribution of PKH and BPNT social assistance schemes in Cirebon District on Monday.

NEW GOVT TO REGULATE SOCIAL ASSISTANCE FUNDS

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Oct 28 (Antara) - In order to better regulate its social assistance funds (Bansos), the new government will bring these under a single roof, a change from the existing system of different ministries and government institutions handling these.          The Bansos, which amounts to some Rp91.8 trillion this year, has been managed by and distributed among at least 15 ministries and government institutions. This made the funds susceptible to being misused and difficult to control.          Fearing that the funds could be misused or used to deal in corrupt practices, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) recently suggested that the Bansos be managed by a government agency under a single roof, namely the Ministry of Social Affairs.          "If their distribution and use are not monitored, the funds could be misappropriated," Bambang Widjojanto of the anti-corruption body said in a coordination meeting on the improvement of people's welfare in Palembang, South Sumatra, on October 14.

GOVT HAILS IDEA TO PUT SOCIAL AID FUNDS IN ONE INSTITUTION

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 3 (Antara) - The government has positively welcomed a recommendation made by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) that social assistance funds (Bansos) be managed by one institution to prevent misappropriation and to make supervision much easier.          "We need to be careful in the disbursement of the social aid funds. We welcome the KPK recommendation and hail it as a positive suggestion," Finance Minister Chatib Basri affirmed on Tuesday.          He stated that the government hailed the KPK recommendation that the management of social assistance funds be centered in one institution so that they could be distributed accurately for the interest of social purposes.         The KPK had earlier written to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono regarding the use of the social aid funds. "We need to announce today that the KPK has sent a letter to the President on the management of the social aid funds," KPK Spokesman Johan Budi noted in his office on Tuesday (March 25).          Johan explained that one of the points covered in the letter asked the President to issue an instruction on the handling of the funds. "So far, the Bansos have been managed separately by various ministries. After conducting an assessment, we have sent a letter to the president suggesting that the management of the assistance be carried out only by the Ministry of Social Affairs. Other ministries should not manage social aid funds," the KPK spokesman reiterated.