Regional Representatives Council (DPD) Speaker AA LaNyalla Mahmud Mattalitti has asked Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati to endorse the budget for orphans, which has been approved by Commission VIII of the House of Representatives (DPR), without delay.

“I think the budget for orphans is important to be allocated, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic, where many children have lost their parents due to COVID-19 exposure,” he said in an official statement received here on Thursday.

Mattalitti said he would ask his side at DPD to monitor fund distribution and ensure only eligible recipients receive assistance.

“We need to oversee this budget to be received by the orphans who are eligible to receive the assistance. No data error is allowed,” he said.

In an earlier session, a budget of Rp 11.6 trillion for orphans was approved by Commission VIII of the House of Representatives. The assistance will be provided to 4.05 million beneficiaries in the 2022 fiscal year, Mattalitti said.

“This budget is a form of the government’s concern for orphans. We know that the number of orphans has increased quite significantly due to many parents succumbing to COVID-19,” he added.

Mattalitti also invited the public to take part in supervising the fund distribution process to make ensure the funds reach those who truly meet the criteria. According to him, the public should oversee the distribution process starting from the data collection stage to the disbursement stage since people residing near the orphans know their real conditions best.

“Maybe there are those who do not understand the mechanism so they do not register (to get the fund). In this case, the community needs to help those orphans,” the DPD speaker remarked.

Source: Antara News