Subsidized Elpiji Distribution According To Rules, Regional Heads Asked To Supervise SPBE

JAKARTA - Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan asked regents and mayors to supervise the LPG bulk filling station (SPBE) to ensure that the dose or contents of the 3 kg LPG cylinder are subsidized in accordance with the provisions.

"We ask the regents to be more intense, because that's their territory, right? It's more intense. If all the central Ministry of Trade is in Jakarta. This is located in the district, therefore, we ask the regents and mayors to be in front of overseeing this matter," he said, quoted by ANTARA, Saturday, May 25.

The man who is familiarly called Zulhas said that the involvement of the local government in supervising SPBE was very necessary, because his party had found that there were 11 SPBEs suspected of having committed fraud.

The 11 SPBEs are in Bandung City, Bandung Regency, West Bandung, Cimahi, Purwakarta, Tangerang City, South Tangerang and DKI Jakarta. From the sample tests in each SPBE in the area, it was found that the 3 kg LPG cylinders contained only 2.2 to 2.8 kg.

"There are more than 800 SPBEs throughout Indonesia. We have found 11 SPBEs, just checked in Jakarta, Tangerang, parts of Bandung, Cimahi. So, in Jakarta, there are North Jakarta, Tangerang, and Cimahi. We have found 11 quantities that are not appropriate," said Zulhas.

According to the Trade Minister, it is necessary to cooperate closely between local governments and LPG distributors to ensure that the distribution process runs smoothly and the amount distributed according to standards.

In this case, strict supervision needs to be carried out to avoid the practice of distribution that is not in accordance with the rules, such as reducing the dose or counterfeiting the quality of LPG.

Regents and mayors are asked to actively involve themselves in the monitoring process, including conducting routine inspections of LPG stocks in their respective regions.

This step is expected to prevent uneven scarcity or distribution, so that people can benefit from the LPG subsidy program better.

"The front one should be the regent/mayor, the front one, but if it doesn't work we can join, go down (supervisory)," said the Trade Minister.

Previously, Zulhas said that his party found as many as 11 SPBE points suspected of cheating in filling 3 kg LPG cylinders.

The Trade Minister said that the 11 SPBEs have so far been given administrative sanctions or warnings to refill the 3 kg LGP tubes in accordance with the provisions.

However, the Trade Minister emphasized that if the warning was not heeded by the SPBEs, their business licenses would be frozen or revoked.

This refers to Government Regulation (PP) Number 29 of 2021, which states that business actors who pack or wrap goods, produce or import goods in a wrapped state are required to guarantee the truth of the quantities listed in the packaging or labeling.