Government Salurkan BLT El Nino Rp6.72 Trillion Until December 21, 2023

Dock of the Coordinating Ministry

JAKARTA - Entering the end of 2023, global economic conditions are still overshadowed by various challenges and uncertainties, including the El Nino weather anomaly phenomenon which must be watched out for.

For information, El Nino is a phenomenon of sea temperature heating (SML) above normal conditions that occur in the central to eastern Pacific Ocean.

This SML warming will increase the potential for cloud growth in the central Pacific Ocean and reduce rainfall in surrounding areas, including in Indonesia. Furthermore, the significant impact of El Nino in Indonesia that can occur is drought, lack of clean water, crop failure, and forest and land fires.

Therefore, the government is targeting the distribution of El Nino's Direct Cash Assistance (BLT) of IDR 7.52 trillion by the end of 2023.

As for December 21, 2023, BLT El Nino has been distributed as much as Rp6.72 trillion or reached 89.36 percent.

"So why do we give it, because it was dry all the time, we anticipate that there will be an increase in prices, but Alhamdulillah, the government can keep the price of real rice stable, cooking oil stable, so we can help support it," said Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto in his official statement, Sunday, December 24.

The government through the Ministry of Finance has provided a thickening of the social protection budget in the form of BLT El Nino with a total budget of IDR 7.52 trillion, BLT El Nino has been distributed by the Government from November to December 2023 with an amount of IDR 400 thousand per 2 months or IDR 200 thousand per month.

The distribution of BLT El Nino targets 18.8 million Beneficiary Families (KPM) and for the City of Yogyakarta, it is recorded that it has 22,810 KPM with a total assistance distributed of Rp9.12 billion.

Airlangga said that until December 21, 2023, BLT El Nino had been distributed amounting to Rp6.72 trillion or reached 89.36 percent and Rp795 million of assistance was in the distribution process, so it is hoped that by the end of 2023 all these aids can be distributed on target.

Airlangga said that in addition to providing BLT El Nino, the Government has also provided a number of other social assistance such as the Family Hope Program (PKH) to food assistance in the form of providing 10 kilograms of rice.

These efforts are a form of the Government's presence in maintaining purchasing power and improving the welfare of the community, especially for vulnerable groups, as well as being a form of implementation of the Pancasila economy.

Airlangga explained that the government is collaborating with PT Pos Indonesia for the distribution of BLT considering its network in every city/district so that it is hoped that it can encourage targeting accuracy.

In addition, PT Pos Indonesia has also experience in distributing National Economic Recovery (PEN) assistance during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"I went to the field, we asked the community directly, whether it needs to be continued or not, whether this is right on target, and earlier after checking with dialogue, it turned out that they really needed it," he concluded.