The West Java provincial, district, and city governments have prepared a total of Rp225 billion in funds to provide social assistance to residents affected by the recent fuel price hike, Governor M. Ridwan Kamil has informed.
“The total is around Rp225 billion combined from the province and from cities, districts,” he said here on Monday.
According to the governor, the social assistance is planned to be distributed from October 15, 2022, after the fund allocation is approved by the Regional Legislative Council (DPRD)
The provincial government is currently preparing the distribution mechanism so that the distribution of the aid does not clash and there is no duplication of beneficiaries, he added.
The social assistance is intended to cover the increase in staple food prices due to the fuel price hike, Kamil explained.
The government has launched several assistance programs to curb the impact of the fuel price increase, including the provision of fuel cash assistance, wage subsidy, and assistance for micro, small, and medium enterprises, he noted.
The Cooperatives and Small Enterprises Office of West Java has proposed the names of around 400 thousand micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the province for cash assistance from the central government.
Head of the West Java Cooperatives and Small Enterprises Office, Kusmana Hartadji, said that the West Java government is targeting to provide social assistance to one million MSMEs in the province.
However, the names of only around 400 thousand have been proposed, based on the received data.
On September 3, the Indonesian government raised the price of subsidized Pertalite fuel from Rp7,650 per liter to Rp10 thousand per liter, subsidized diesel from Rp5,150 per liter to Rp6,800 per liter, and non-subsidized Pertamax from Rp12,500 to Rp14,500 per liter.
The price increase came into force after the government diverted fuel subsidies to provide social assistance since the spending on energy subsidies and energy compensation from the state budget had reached Rp502.4 trillion, with energy subsidies accounting for Rp208.9 trillion and energy compensation Rp293.5 trillion of the total figure.
Source: Antara News