BGN Is Considered Not Optimal To Guard The MBG Program Of IDR 71 Trillion

Illustration of nutritious eating (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The Free Nutrition Food Program (MBG) initiated by President Prabowo Subianto is one of the nation's big dreams. For the initial stage, the government has prepared a budget of IDR 71 trillion in the 2025 State Budget to support the implementation of the program.

Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadives emphasized that he would withdraw the budget if the absorption did not go according to the target. The state targets the construction of 20 thousand to 32 thousand kitchens of the Nutrition Program Food Center (SPPG).

However, in the midst of these efforts, the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) is considered not to have shown optimal performance. Indonesian Audit Watch (IAW) Founder Secretary Iskandar Sitorus assessed that BGN is still stuck in application affairs and has not encouraged real cooperation with partners in the field.

According to Iskandar, MBG's kitchen partner is actually a real asset of the government that was never consolidated by BGN. He said that many owners of the land, buildings, and complete cooking utensils could be used for this program, but instead they were left scattered.

BGN should be a conductor that brings this potential together. The state should not only be a passive audience," he said, Tuesday, September 23.

IAW also highlighted the emergence of a number of food poisoning cases in the MBG program. Most recently, dozens of children were reported to have been poisoned due to stale rice. This condition creates a bad perception in the community because there is no clear handling of the crisis from BGN.

"Does BGN form a crisis center? Is there an open audit? The answer is nil. Even though public trust can collapse if BGN continues to fail to show crisis management," said Iskandar.

IAW assesses that the solution to strengthening the MBG program is actually already available in the Ministry of Finance through the Government Investment Center (PIP). The institution has the authority to manage ultra micro financing and strategic investment as regulated in PP Number 1 of 2008 and PMK Number 52 of 2017.

According to IAW, PIP can act as an initial capital provider, bank credit underwriter, as well as a cross-sector coordination catalyst to map and consolidate the assets of kitchen partners nationally. With this pattern, BGN no longer needs to wait for the application, but just take advantage of the available instruments.

"If BGN remains passive, the risk is a BPK audit, social-political losses, even potential for criminalization due to cases of child poisoning. The Minister of Finance has jumped, the President has given a mandate, the instruments already exist through PIP. It's just BGN, whether you want to run or be recorded in history as an institution that failed to pick up MBG's golden momentum," said Iskandar.