The distribution of the social assistance budget has reached 97.35 percent this year, Secretary General of the Social Affairs Ministry Harry Hikmat informed here on Monday.

“Specifically, the spending on social assistance spending has been realized by 97.35 percent this year,” he informed during a forum group discussion (FGD) on the “Distribution of Social Assistance in 2022” with Commission VIII of the House of Representatives in Medan, North Sumatra, on Saturday (November 26, 2022).

According to the Social Affairs Ministry, the budget for social assistance in 2022 was Rp92,965,933,146,000, or around US$5.9 billion.

“Members can coordinate with state-owned postal company PT Pos on the implementation of social assistance distribution in each political district,” Hikmat said.

Meanwhile, the Nusantara Economic Hero (PENA) program has been implemented and is targeting 2,800 beneficiary families (KPMs), Director General of Social Empowerment at the ministry Edi Suharto informed.

“What will be difficult is to synchronize KPM data with the Integrated Social Welfare Data (DTKS). We hope that the House of Representatives’ expert (team) and the ministry team will help each other in the PENA process,” he said.

The PENA program’s implementation has reached the assessment completion and goods purchasing stage, Secretary of the Directorate General of Social Empowerment Benny Sujanto said.

In the initial stage, the PENA program is being conducted in Banyumas, Central Java, and Sukabumi, West Java. “The (implementation) process is in stages,” Sujanto added.

During the discussion, the House members shared information obtained from regions that there are still people who have not been registered in the DTKS. The House said that it expects the ministry to immediately process the data of people who require social assistance.

The FGD participants agreed that the distribution of social assistance would be completed by December 20 this year due to the closing of the state budget book or ledger.

Source: Antara News