Jayawijaya District Head Denies Embezzling Social Assistance Rice: I Know Myself

JAKARTA - Head of Wouma District in Jayawijaya Regency, Papua Province, Soni Matuan, has denied embezzling or intending to embezzle social assistance rice aimed at the poor.

Soni Matuan said residents suspect that the two tons and five hundred kilograms of aid rice will be used for their personal interests.

"There are people who think that the rice is in my house, so they want it to be mine. I want to say that I know myself, this is rice for the community, as the recipient of basic necessities," he said in Wamena, the capital of Jayawijaya Regency, as reported by Antara, Thursday, August 12.

He explained that the assistance was delivered by the Jayawijaya District Social Service and the family of hope (PKH) in the afternoon so it could not be directly distributed to residents on the same day.

The rock rice was immediately dropped to the house of the district head because there was no district office in Wouma.

"The rice was delivered by the social service and PKH officers to the house in the afternoon, past 5 o'clock and there was already a statement from the PKH coordinator, the rice had to come out on the same day but because it was late, I said it's okay to just put it in my house," he said. . He ensured that the two tons and five hundred kilograms of rice were still intact and residents of seven villages could come to bring it based on the data of the recipients or those who were entitled to receive them.

According to him, the rice is still being distributed to the community because it is a central government aid that must be distributed, and he will supervise it because the regent has instructed all district heads to oversee the distribution of the aid.

"We actually want to distribute this rice, but people are busy taking money at the post office here, so the rice is there, the rice is still intact," he said.