Get Rp1.2 Million Social Assistance, Warteg Association Asks For A More Comprehensive And Continuous Program

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA – Chairman of the Warteg Nusantara Cooperative (Kowantara) Mukroni hopes that the assistance provided by the government to street vendors (PKL) and shop owners will not stop at this time and will continue.

The reason is, Mukroni wants continuity and assistance so that micro and small business actors can continue to survive, especially in the difficult situation of the pandemic.

“We would like to thank the government for providing cash assistance of Rp. 1.2 million. But that does not mean that the government is finished and it is enough just to revive or restore the economy of the small people from adversity. We view the condition of MSMEs, including this warteg, during the COVID-19 pandemic, in conditions of quite severe difficulty," he said in a press statement sent to VOI, Friday, September 10.

According to him, quite a number of warteg entrepreneurs have been forced to close because they are not strong enough to withstand the pressure caused by this epidemic.

"More than 50 percent of warteg entrepreneurs closed or went bankrupt," he said.

For this reason, Mukroni hopes that there will be further actions taken by state officials to help ensure people's business activities can continue to roll.

"For example, the government provides subsidized assistance such as electricity, water, telephone, basic necessities and those related to the livelihoods of the underprivileged because the most affected by the pandemic are the underprivileged people, aka the small people," he said.

In addition, it is also important for the government to provide access to capital for warteg entrepreneurs who are forced to close.

“In this case, it is easier for warteg-warteg to gain access to capital at affordable interest rates. The forms can be in the form of abolishing arrears of interest, easing the requirements for obtaining KUR (people's business credit), to providing low interest rates for loans at state banks," he explained.

As previously reported, the government through the Ministry of Finance officially launched cash assistance for street vendors and shop owners in the amount of IDR 1.2 million to 1 million recipients. Meanwhile, the total funds provided in this program reached IDR 1.2 trillion.

"The president has decided to give authority to the TNI and Polri to distribute aid directly to street vendors and shop owners," said Finance Minister Sri Mulyani when symbolically releasing the program in Medan, North Sumatra, Thursday, September 9.