Social Assistance Funds Deposit IDR 2.1 Trillion, Speaker Of The House Of Representatives: Evidence Of Lack Of Supervision Of State Budget Financing Programs

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, highlighted the findings of the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) related to social assistance funds (bansos) of Rp. 2.1 trillion which deposited in more than 10 million accounts of recipient banks that had been inactive for a long time (dormant).

Puan said this condition reflects that public financial governance is still not optimal, especially in planning, distribution, and supervision of social assistance programs financed from the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN).

Scalely, the threat account in this case is not small. This is a direct indicator that the verification and updating of data on social assistance beneficiaries is still weak, adaptive to the socio-economic dynamics of the community, and minimal active supervision," said Puan, Friday, August 1.

Puan assessed that this problem was not only an administrative matter, but also touched on the aspect of accountability in the use of public funds.

"When trillions of rupiah funds settle in accounts that are no longer used, the state certainly loses the effectiveness of social spending," he said.

The chairman of the PDIP DPP also considered that this issue could open up potential fraudulent practices. For example, money laundering crimes by irresponsible parties.

Therefore, Puan urged the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Social Affairs to immediately conduct a thorough audit and find the root of the problem, including tracing the weakness of the reporting system, data verification, and disbursement of social assistance in the field.

"This is so that the validity of the beneficiary data can be accounted for factually and legally," said Puan.

The former Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture also encouraged the distribution of social assistance in the future to be designed more adaptive, digital, and real-time. Puan suggested that the social assistance distribution system could be maximized by using technology that is more objective in nature.

"This is important to avoid waste of the budget, as well as ensure that social assistance is distributed to those who really need it, not to a fictitious account, dead account, or nominee account resulting from a crime," said Puan.

Furthermore, Puan also encouraged the establishment of a Special Task Force across ministries and institutions, including the PPATK, the Financial Services Authority (OJK), and Bank Indonesia, to track and uncover the network of misuse of dormant accounts, as well as mitigate potential fraudulent practices from the distribution of social assistance.

"The findings of PPATK regarding more than 1 million accounts related to criminal acts, including 150 thousand nominee accounts, are a danger signal that the national financial system requires tighter and risk-based supervision," said Puan.

Puan reminded that in the context of state financial management, the principles of transparency, accountability, and responsibility are not just jargon, but the main foundation in building public trust in the government.

"When social funds that should be a safety net for the people are actually stuck in administrative deadlocks and gaps in financial crimes, the state must act quickly, decisively, and completely," said the grandson of the Proclaimer of the Republic of Indonesia, Bung Karno.

Puan ensured that the DPR RI will continue to oversee the process of improving the public financial system and managing social assistance, so that every rupiah from the APBN really works for the people, not settles in an unclaimed account.

"We in the DPR RI will oversee this issue and explore systematically the problem of distributing social assistance that is not on target," concluded Puan.