Witness: Realization Of Social Assistance Fees To Pay For Minister's Operations, Such As Jet Plane Rentals

Coal Juliari Session/Antara

JAKARTA - Former Commitment Making Officer (PPK) for the provision of COVID-19 basic food assistance, Matheus Joko Santoso, revealed that the realization of deposit and operational fees from companies providing COVID-19 basic food assistance at the Ministry of Social Affairs in April-June 2020 reached Rp19.132 billion.

"The realization that I received from the deposit fee was Rp. 14,014 billion, while the operational fee was Rp. 5,117 billion, so the total first round of fees was Rp. 19,132 billion and what we have deposited is Rp. 11.2 billion," said Matheus Joko at Jakarta Corruption Court (Tipikor), reported by Antara, Monday.

Joko said this when he was a witness for the defendant, former Social Minister Juliari Batubara, who was charged with accepting bribes of Rp. 32.482 billion from 109 companies providing social assistance for COVID-19.

Joko is tasked with quoting Rp10 thousand/package of basic necessities as a deposit fee and Rp1,000/package of basic necessities as an operational fee from vendors providing basic food assistance. The budget ceiling per package itself is IDR 300 thousand / package with the number of packages per stage is 1.9 million packages.

The first round of providing basic food assistance assistance takes place in April-June 2020 for 6 stages of procurement.

"What has been handed over to Mr. Juliari in 5 submissions is a total of IDR 11.2 billion and I still have the remaining IDR 2.815 billion, while the operational 'fee' that has been used is IDR 4.825 billion, the remaining IDR 292 million," said Joko .

Joko himself admitted that the operational fee was used to pay operational costs and for officials at the Ministry of Social Affairs.

"It was only conveyed in general related to the payment of operational costs as well as the delivery of money to Mr. Secretary General, to Mr. Adi and me, only submitted for that," said Joko.

However, Joko also admitted that he was assigned to pay the minister's operational costs. "Such as paying for a jet plane rental, also paying for a swab test, at that time I handed it over to my aide, Pak Eko Budi Santoso," said Joko.