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Indonesia extends, accelerates social aid amid latest COVID-19 restrictions
The government is being flexible in allocating the state budget for social aid programs, aimed at the low- and middle-income families affected by the latest COVID-19 restrictions in Indonesia, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has said.
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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. A local fishermen association disburses aid packages of staple food, masks and hand sanitizers for the public kitchen, which serves food for COVID-19 patients undergoing self-isolation across the city. (Antara/Oky Lukmansyah)
T
he government is rolling out new rounds of social aid to support people affected by the latest emergency public activity restrictions (PPKM Darurat) across Java and Bali, but experts have called for more transparency in their disbursement following a graft scandal pertaining to similar aid last year
The restrictions are imposed from July 3 to 20 as the government scrambles to contain the COVID-19 transmission amid a case surge that is pushing the country’s healthcare system to the limit.
In line with the policy, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said the government would be “flexible” in managing the state budget to cover the disbursement of social aid. The programs are aimed at supporting lower- and middle-income families whose livelihoods have been affected by the restrictions.
Extending, accelerating disbursement
The government said it would extend existing aid programs and accelerate their disbursement during the PPKM Darurat period.
An example was the direct cash transfer program, which was disbursed between January and April. The government has set aside an additional Rp 6.1 trillion (US$421 million) from this year’s budget to extend the program until August.
“The President [Joko “Jokowi” Widodo] has instructed to accelerate the disbursement [of aid] within this week, especially for the PKH [Family Hope Program], which will be paid in July,” the minister said.
