Good News From Sri Mulyani: Social Assistance Disbursed This Week, Direct Presidential Instruction

Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani (Photo: Screenshot of the Presidential Secretariat Youtube)

JAKARTA - Minister of Finance (Menkeu) Sri Mulyani admitted that she received a special message from President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) to accelerate the distribution of social assistance or social assistance to the community in connection with the establishment of the Emergency Community Activity Restriction (PPKM) on July 3-20

"Earlier, the President gave instructions to accelerate payments this week, especially for the PKH (Hope Family Program) and basic food cards," he said at an online press conference, Monday, July 5.

For information, this year's PKH social assistance is budgeted at IDR 28.31 trillion, targeting 10 million Beneficiary Families (KPM). Meanwhile, the realization until the close of the first semester of 2021 is IDR 13.96 trillion.

Meanwhile, for basic food cards, the acceleration of distribution this month is intended to meet the target of 18.8 million KPM.

The allocation of basic food card funds for the 2021 period amounted to Rp. 40.19 trillion, with the realization until the first half of Rp. 17.75 trillion to 15.9 million KPM.

As previously reported, Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani ensured that the government would provide cash assistance to anticipate the impact of Emergency PPKM.

"The distribution of the Emergency PPKM cash assistance will target 10 million recipients in 34 provinces based on the previous period's social assistance data. The aid index is IDR 300,000 per month which will be given in July and August," he said at an online press conference, Friday, July 2.

The Minister of Finance added that the funds prepared by the government in the two extensions of this social assistance amounted to Rp. 6.1 trillion.

Meanwhile, there are three requirements for the recipient of the Emergency PPKM cash assistance. First, poor, underprivileged or vulnerable families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two, non-food card programs and non-PKH families (the family of hope program). And the third is to have a population identification number (NIK/KTP), family card (KK), and a telephone number to contact.