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Disbursement of social aid grew 70.1 percent in February
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Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati. (Antara/Agung Rajasa)
T
he government has intensified the disbursement of its social assistance to low-income households ahead of the April 17 presidential and legislative elections.
Finance Ministry data show the disbursement of social assistance had grown by Rp 23.6 trillion (US$1.66 billion) or 70.1 percent year-on-year (yoy) in February. The disbursed assistance accounted for 24.31 percent of the total social assistance in 2019, which was set at Rp 97.06 trillion.
The ministry says the high realization of the social assistance in April was triggered by a number of factors, including the increase in the Family Hope Program (PKH), particularly assistance for healthcare services and education.
Secondly, in February, the government disbursed the premium assistance (PBI) for low-income participants of the Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan) for the payment up to April.
“Nominally, the realization of the central government spending was higher than the spending in 2018 because of the increase in two kinds of social assistance – the PKH and the allocation for PBI BPJS Kesehatan,” Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Tuesday as quoted by kontan.co.id.
Thirdly, the government also disbursed the funding for the Indonesian Smart Card (KIP) Program and scholarships for students from low-income families.
In total, the ministry shows that government spending up to February this year reached Rp 145.68 trillion, an increase of 14.19 percent compared to the spending in the corresponding period last year.
The spending by ministries and other institutions grew by 29.06 percent yoy to Rp 71.23 trillion, 8.33 percent of the whole-year spending of Rp 855.45 trillion, while the spending by non-ministries/institutions only grew 2.86 percent yoy to Rp 70.46 trillion. (bbn)
