Head Of Bogor City DPRD Regrets BLT 2,800 Residents Canceled

BOGOR - The chairman of the Bogor City DPRD Atang Trisnanto regretted that the savings budget for council members that had been set aside for direct cash assistance (BLT), for residents who had not received social assistance at all during the COVID-19 pandemic, was canceled by the Social Service.

"This is very unfortunate because the public cannot benefit from the budget that we have prepared and entrusted to the Social Service (Dinsos)," he said in Bogor City, quoted by Antara, Friday, January 7.

Atang said the budget for the BLT had been prepared by the Bogor City DPRD using the refocusing budget in the 2021 fiscal year.

The BLT budget, he said, was set aside from part of the results of combing the savings budget, which amounted to Rp. 19 billion for 2021 and the remaining tens of billions were allocated to several other strategic expenditure posts such as regional infrastructure improvements and unplanned social assistance.

Now the savings funds, said Atas Trisnanto, have become the Remaining Budget Financing (SILPA) because they are not distributed by the Bogor City Social Service.

Information on the cancellation of the BLT from the Bogor City DPRD budget was previously conveyed by the Head of the Poor and Social Security Division of the Bogor City Social Service, Okto Muhamad Ikhsan, which has taken place in 2021, because some of the data on prospective recipients has been recorded as a candidate for receiving social assistance from the Ministry of Social Affairs (Kemensos).

Okto explained that the BLT plan to residents from the results of saving on recess activities or direct visits from the Bogor City DPRD to people who were hindered by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 was unsustainable.

From the data that has been inputted into the information system of the Bogor City Social Service and connected to the Ministry of Social Affairs at the end of 2021, there are 1,500 citizen data that have been approved as candidates for social assistance recipients.

Meanwhile, the remaining 1,300 residents' data has become the stock of the Ministry of Social Affairs if there is an additional social assistance quota for the City of Bogor.

"While there are some residents who have not been touched by government assistance due to COVID-19, the budget has not been absorbed," said Atang Trisnanto.

He hopes that the budget, which is now SILPA, can be included in a report through a written statement regarding the explanation of the non-absorption of the budget.

"We will ask for a written report on why this budget was not absorbed. Where's the fault? If there is a problem with rules or administrative requirements, can you explain what the problem is. So that in the future it can be improved and not happen again," he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chairman of Commission IV DPRD Bogor City Said Muhammad Mohan explained the issue of canceling the distribution of the 2,800 BLT.

He said that there was a delay in the Bogor City Social Service Office in verifying and evaluating the social assistance recipients.

"The budget that we have prepared has not been absorbed and the public cannot accept it," he said.

In fact, according to Mohan, the distribution of the 2021 Revised Regional Budget BLT is in accordance with the Minister of Home Affairs Regulation (Permendagri) number 64 of 2021 regarding the guidelines for determining the APBD.

In it, it is necessary to prepare a budget for the Social Safety Net (JPS) as a form of handling COVID-19.

However, according to him, like it or not, the council and the community must be heartened to give up SILPA from the budget post, which should be enjoyed by people in need.

"But, of course, I will ask for a detailed report on why this can be SILPA and of course we will make this a record," said Mohan.