Regarding The Extra Social Assistance Ahead Of Ramadan, Social Minister Risma Is Waiting For The Ministry Of Finance's Policy

Social Minister Tri Rismaharani (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Minister of Social Affairs Tri Rismaharini is waiting for the Ministry of Finance's policy regarding changes to the extra social assistance (bansos) mechanism ahead of Ramadan for holders of Basic Food Cards/Non-Cash Food Assistance (BPNT).

"We'll see, because yesterday it was said that there was a change in the mechanism," said Social Minister Risma when met at GKI Tanah Papua, Jayapura, Papua, as reported by Antara, Tuesday, March 22.

Social Minister Risma said that initially the Ministry of Social Affairs was asked to prepare extra social assistance which would be distributed to 18.8 million families who are beneficiaries of the Sembako Card/BPNT.

However, currently it is still in the adjustment related to changes in the mechanism. Social Minister Risma has also not provided further details regarding the amount of the extra social assistance.

Previously, Social Minister Risma said on March 13, 2022, that there would be extra social assistance to be distributed before the month of Ramadan, or before April 2022. The budget allocation for the extra social assistance, said Risma, had been approved by the Ministry of Finance. His party has also coordinated with the Minister of Finance (Menkeu) Sri Mulyani.

Social Minister Risma said President Joko Widodo had instructed to accelerate the distribution of basic food cards/BPNT for the first three months of 2022.

In addition, the President has also issued a Presidential Regulation (Perpres) regarding the distribution of social assistance, which does not have to be in the form of goods. The choice is according to the needs of the beneficiary, and should not be packaged.

The government disbursed BPNT to 18.8 million KPM worth Rp. 200 thousand/month per beneficiary family (KPM). For this program, the government has allocated a budget of Rp 45.12 trillion.