1.200 MBG Kitchens Have Contracts but Not Yet Operating, Government Looking for Solutions

JAKARTA - The government has revealed that around 1,200 kitchens of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) Program have contracts and decisions, and some have even been used as collateral for banks. However, until now, these kitchens have not been able to operate.

The Presidential Chief of Staff, General TNI (Ret.) Dudung Abdurachman, said that the issue was one of the concerns in a coordination meeting with the Ministry of Cooperatives, the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), the Coordinating Ministry for Food, Agrinas, and TNI representatives.

According to Dudung, in addition to the 1,200 kitchens that have been contracted, about 15 thousand MBG kitchens have also been completed from a target of around 27 thousand kitchens throughout Indonesia. Most of those who have not run are in the leading, outermost, and lagging areas or 3T.

"We continue to coordinate so that various obstacles in the field can be immediately resolved so that the implementation of the program can run according to target," said Dudung at the Presidential Palace Complex, Jakarta, Friday, June 26.

He said the government remained committed to continuing the MBG Program as one of the President's priority programs. Therefore, various issues that arise will be resolved through cross-ministry and agency coordination.

According to Dudung, the government is also perfecting the governance of the program so that its implementation is more effective, accountable, and sustainable.

He added that the improvement was not to reduce services to the public, but to ensure that the implementation of the program ran better without disturbing certainty for the organizing partners and the food supply chain.

Dudung hopes that the resolution of various obstacles can accelerate the operation of the MBG kitchen so that the benefits of the program are felt by the community and at the same time provide certainty for partners who have invested.