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KPK receives more than 800 complaints on social aid in less than 3 months
According to Jakarta-based SMERU Research Institute researcher Athia Yumna, the root cause of the problem was the sluggish pace at which regional governments regularly updated their list of beneficiaries.
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An officer gives instructions to people lining up to receive social aid packages at a post office in Padang, West Sumatra, on May 15. (Antara/Iggoy el Fitra)
T
he Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has received 894 complaints pertaining to social aid in less than three months through its dedicated digital platform, JAGA Bansos, as the government distributes trillions of rupiah to help citizens during the COVID-19 epidemic.
The complaints came from 243 regional administrations, namely 19 provincial administration and 224 cities and regencies administration, between May 29 and Aug. 7.
“As many as 369 reports were from those who did not receive social aid even though [they said] they had registered for the program,” said KPK commissioner Lili Pantauli Siregar during a press conference on the KPK’s biennial performance report on Tuesday.
The KPK has resolved 357 of the total complaints, while 207 others were being processed. In the meantime, the agency is still verifying the remaining 312 complaints.
JAGA Bansos is a feature in KPK’s portal and mobile app, JAGA, which provides the public with information and complaint submission services. The feature, which is accessible at jaga.id, allows the public to make reports over suspected irregularities and misappropriations regarding the distribution of COVID-19 relief.
The initiative is also part of the KPK’s role in supervising the government’s national COVID-19 mitigation spending, totaling Rp 695.2 trillion (US$47.03 million). Out of this budget, the government has allotted Rp 203.8 trillion for social safety nets, including various forms of social assistance.
The distribution of the assistance, however, has faced many hurdles, with reports mentioning slow or mistargeted distribution amid red tape and lack of coordination among central and regional governments.
According to Jakarta-based SMERU Research Institute researcher Athia Yumna, the root cause of the problem was the sluggish pace at which regional governments regularly updated their list of beneficiaries.
To ensure accountability in the distribution, the KPK issued a circular in April that urged government agencies and regional administrations to utilize the Social Affairs Ministry’s Integrated Data on Social Welfare (DTKS), in addition to citizen identification numbers to verify social aid recipients.
The KPK has also urged regional governments to deliver the aid to citizens who are unregistered but meet the central government’s criteria to receive the COVID-19 relief. Afterward, regional governments are expected to submit reports on said social aid distribution to the Social Affairs Ministry to update the beneficiary data.
Previously, KPK chairman Filri Bahuri asserted that those found guilty of corruption relating to COVID-19 relief funds could face the death penalty.
