Heboh Alleged Markup of People's School Shoes, Ministry of Social Affairs Targets Audit Results 3 Weeks

Minister of Social Affairs (Mensos) Saifullah Yusuf or Gus Ipul (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Social Affairs (Kemensos) targets the completion of the internal investigation related to the alleged inflation of prices or markup of the procurement of shoes for students of the People's School within a maximum of three weeks.

Social Minister Saifullah Yusuf said the investigation was carried out by the Inspector General (Itjen) of the Ministry of Social Affairs as a follow-up to public criticism and input regarding the alleged procurement of goods at prices deemed too expensive.

"We follow up on the documents and evidence are sufficient. We give the opportunity to Inspector General to thoroughly investigate. This deepening target is a maximum of three weeks. God willing, early next month the results can be delivered by Mr. Inspector General," said Saifullah Yusuf after leading the Anti-Corruption Pledge at the Ministry of Social Affairs Office, quoted from Antara, Monday, May 18.

As a first step, the Ministry of Social Affairs has assigned two related officials to facilitate the evaluation and investigation process. The two officials are the Head of the Goods and Services Procurement Service as the Commitment Maker Officer (PPK) at the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Head of the Equipment and State-owned Goods Sub-section.

The Minister of Social Affairs ensures that the investigation not only covers the procurement of 2026 which is still ongoing, but also the procurement program which has been implemented in 2025.

According to him, all parties responsible for procurement were cooperative and ready to undergo an audit.

"Later, after there is a complete report from Mr. Inspector General, there will be an evaluation and the results of the investigation. We will follow up on everything, whether with internal sanctions or we continue to the law enforcement authorities," he said.

In addition to conducting internal investigations, the Ministry of Social Affairs also asked for input from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to improve the governance of the procurement of goods and services in the ministry environment.

Saifullah Yusuf said that improvements would be made starting from human resources to the procurement planning system.

"The input from the KPK is very much and we will follow up. Currently we are evaluating the planning, then proceed to the procurement. This is all part of early prevention and our form of appreciation for all public opinions," he said.