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Thousands of civil servants have reportedly received social aid, ministry says
The ministry has identified 31,624 civil servants who have been receiving some form of social aid, such as non-cash food assistance (BPNT) or other forms of aids under the Family Hope Program (PKH), when it recently updated its Integrated Data for Social Welfare (DTKS) database of poor and vulnerable families.
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Police officers and local fishermen move staple food packages at a COVID-19 public kitchen set up by the Tegal Police in Central Java on June 22. (Antara/Oky Lukmansyah)
T
he Social Affairs Ministry has found that tens of thousands of civil servants have been receiving social aid for which they are not eligible, in the latest case that further spotlights the persisting data discrepancy issues marring the government’s social aid programs.
The ministry has identified at least 31,624 civil servants who have been receiving some form of social aid, such as non-cash food assistance (BPNT) or other benefits under the Family Hope Program (PKH). The discovery was made as the ministry was updating its Integrated Data for Social Welfare (DTKS) database of poor and vulnerable families.
“We have cross-checked the data with the National Civil Service Agency [BKN] and found that 28,965 of those civil servants were actively working, while the rest were retirees,” Social Affairs Minister Tri "Risma" Rismaharini said in a press conference on Thursday.
The civil servants were spread across 511 cities and regencies, she said, adding that the ministry would return the flagged data to be checked by regional administrations. They comprise university lecturers, government office employees and medical workers.
The ministry will also investigate whether members of the military or the police had received government aid. Risma added that she had notified the military and the police’s top brass over the issue.
In response to Risma’s statements, BKN spokesperson Satya Pratama told The Jakarta Post on Friday that the ministry should also notify the human resources department of the respective institutions so that they could follow up on the ministry’s findings.
He said if there were indications of a violation of rules from the civil servants, they would be reprimanded in accordance with prevailing regulations.
