TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Govt to turn some social aid into working capital for the poor
BP Taskin head Budiman Sudjatmiko said on Thursday that the administration sought to gradually reduce social assistance spending, which later could be reallocated for “empowerment programs”.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Seeking solutions: Then-defense minister Prabowo Subianto (left) shakes hands with Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician Budiman Sudjatmiko in Jakarta on July 18, 2023. (The Jakarta Post/Antara)
T
he government will transform some social aid programs into working capital for low-income people starting next year, the administration’s Poverty Alleviation Acceleration Agency (BP Taskin) has said.
BP Taskin head Budiman Sudjatmiko said on Thursday that the administration sought to gradually reduce social assistance spending, which later could be reallocated for “empowerment programs”.
“The empowerment programs will become working capital for the poor,” Budiman was quoted as saying by Kumparan, implying this could assist low-income people in starting a business.
Budiman went on to say that the new scheme would still take the form of a subsidy, but he did not elaborate further details on how the change would take place.
“See it this way, people who [have received social aid] for years must ‘graduate’,” said Budiman.
President Prabowo Subianto has vowed to eradicate extreme poverty within two years, while halving the general poverty rate in the same period.
“Extreme poverty now is at 0.8 percent. In two years time it must be 0 percent. Poverty is at 9 percent and by 2029 it must become 5 percent. Those are the government’s targets,” said Budiman.
