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INDEF deputy slams candidates' anti-poverty policies as 'not enough'
The deputy director of INDEF has criticized the presidential candidates' poverty alleviation strategies, saying that lifting people out of poverty will take much more than a social assistance (bansos) program.
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A woman walks past stilt houses on May 15, 2023 in a densely populated area in Makassar, the provincial capital of South Sulawesi. The government aims to eliminate extreme poverty by 2024. (Antara/Arnas Padda)
The deputy director of the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF) has criticized the three presidential candidates for falling short in their poverty alleviation strategies by continuing to rely on social assistance (bansos).
"To lift the community out of poverty, social assistance is not enough," INDEF’s Eko Listiyanto said on Monday, as quoted by Antara News.
Eko added that social assistance served as a mere budgetary policy to sustain the buying power of low-income families by safeguarding their disposable income amid the rising prices of essential goods.
Former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan proposes enhancing the existing social assistance program with a targeted social security system. Gerindra chairman Prabowo Subianto is offering a nearly identical program that continues the social assistance program of the current government, combined with his campaign’s flagship free school lunch and milk program.
Meanwhile, presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Strubble (PDI-P) has put together a program on establishing a perpetual social fund to reduce the poverty rate.
Eko pointed out that strengthening and expanding social protection was key to tackling poverty, as outlined in the 2024 presidential candidates’ vision and mission statements.
He added that creating more jobs was crucial in ensuring that people had a source of income so they could eventually reduce their reliance on social assistance, and emphasized that additional measures were needed for greater productivity and empowerment.
