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.
He
cited the example of the use of a regional budget grant in 2013,
wherein recipients have yet to file reports to account for the funds. "
Funds remain unaccounted for due to this (mismanagement)," Widjojanto
remarked.
Earlier, the KPK had written to the then president, Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono, regarding the use of the social aid funds. "We need to
announce that the KPK had sent a letter to the (then) president on the
management of the social aid funds," KPK spokesman, Johan Budi, noted in
his office recently.
Budi explained that one of the points covered in the letter asked the
president to issue a directive on the handling of the funds.
"So far, the Bansos have been managed separately by various ministries.
After conducting an assessment, we sent a letter to the (then)
president suggesting that the management of the assistance funds be
carried out only by the Ministry of Social Affairs. Other ministries
should not manage social aid funds," the KPK spokesman reiterated.
The KPK had recommended that the funds be managed by only one
institution, i. e. the Ministry of Social Affairs, in the interest of
social assistance. The use of the funds should be regulated through an
elaborate system and be implemented based on prudent principles.
Moreover, the newly-installed Indonesian president, Joko Widodo, better
known as Jokowi, has provided directives to the new Social Affairs
Minister, Khofifah Indar Parawansa, in which he suggested that the funds
be managed and disbursed under a single roof.
"The president has provided us with directives and suggested that the
Bansos be channeled under a single roof. However, he has yet to decide
which ministry should carry out the program," Parawansa noted on
Tuesday.
She made these remarks during the ceremony where the social affairs
ministerial post was handed over to her by the outgoing minister, Salim
Segaf Al Jufri, on Tuesday.
The newly-appointed minister added that a meeting with the Coordinating
Minister for Human and Cultural Development, Puan Maharani, would be
held on Wednesday to discuss the matter.
Based on the president's directives, the Bansos should not be handled
by many ministries/state institutions but by one institution to make the
funds easy to supervise, she added.
Parawansa
affirmed the readiness of the social affairs ministry to manage the
funds as its services had been integrated.
"The
ministry of social affairs has different director generals for social
rehabilitation, social empowerment and poverty eradication, and social
protection and security insurance," she explained.
The
funds will, however, be managed based on the fields they are allocated
to. If the Bansos is focused on sectors such as health and education,
the ministry of social affairs can take on the task as it already deals
in the affairs of the fields, the minister noted.
Furthermore, former social affairs minister, Segaf Al Jufri, recently
confirmed that the ministry, if trusted, was ready to handle the single
management system of the assistance funds, which have been separately
managed by 15 ministries and institutions so far.
"We are ready to regulate the funds. I think this will be a better
system. Programs requiring them (the funds) could be paid more attention
to," the former minister emphasized.
Based on data from the Ministry of Finance, 15 ministries and agencies
managed social assistance funds amounting to Rp91.8 trillion from the
2014 state budget.
These ministries and agencies are the Home Affairs Ministry (Rp9.4
trillion), Agriculture Ministry (Rp5.3 trillion), Tourism and Creative
Economy Ministry (Rp49 billion), Education and Culture Ministry (Rp28.3
trillion), Health Ministry (Rp19.9 trillion), Religious Affairs Ministry
(Rp12.6 trillion), Manpower and Transmigration Ministry (Rp32.6
billion), Social Affairs Ministry (Rp5.3 trillion), Marine Affairs and
Fisheries Ministry (611.4 billion), Public Housing Ministry (Rp1.7
trillion), Public Works Ministry (Rp3.9 trillion), Cooperatives and
Small-Scale Enterprises Ministry (Rp285 billion), Less Advantage Region
Ministry (Rp766.5 billion), National Disasters Mitigation Agency/BNPB
(Rp50 billion) and the Sidoarjo Mudflow Handling Agency/BPLS (Rp4.7
billion).
Besides these, disaster reserve funds amounted to Rp3 trillion of the state budget.
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(T.A014/INE)
EDITED BY INE
(T.A014/A/BESSR/A. Abdussalam) 28-10-2014 22:35:5 |
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