Ombudsman Asks Govt to Extend Social Aid until December to Anticipate Food Price Hike

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Ombudsman asked the government to extend the social assistance program until December 2024. Member of the Indonesian Ombudsman, Yeka Hendra Fatika, said that this aims to anticipate the rising price of staple foods.

“Food aid must be continued on a long-term basis. Food aid is a form of government presence to the community, especially to beneficiary families,” Yeka said at the State Logistics Agency or Bulog’s Tondo Warehouse Complex in Palu City on Tuesday, March 26.

He shared data on food aid recipients that originally came from the Integrated Social Welfare Data or DTKS, then changed to the Targeting for the Acceleration of Elimination of Extreme Poverty (P3KE) under the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture.

The P3KE data targets aid recipients based on deciles 1 to 3, which prioritizes poor families and the elderly. However, Yeka said that the data is not yet fully up to date. Both the central government and regional governments are updating P3KE data as a database for food aid recipients.

He asked the government to appoint human resources to specifically update data at the village level and be funded by the State Budget. “So, there will be someone responsible [for the data], whoever has the right to receive it,” Yeka concluded.

ANNISA FEBIOLA

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