The Realization Of Incentives For Health Workers Lame To 'Circumcision,' Puan Maharani To The Regional Government: Need To Be Rebuked First Or...

Chairman of the House of Representatives Mrs. Maharani (Photo: ANTARA/HO-DPR RI/pri)

JAKARTA - Chairperson of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, asked the regional government to immediately pay and distribute incentives for health workers (nakes) who are struggling in handling the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Immediately pay incentives for health workers who are the spearhead and the party most at risk of being exposed to COVID-19," said Puan in a statement in Jakarta, Antara, Friday, July 30.

He admitted that he was concerned about the disbursement of health workers incentives in the regions which were unequal compared to last year's realization. Puan highlighted a number of reports about incentives that health workers did not receive.

There are also reports related to receiving incentives that are circumcised (cut, ed), transfer of allocations, to the amount of incentives that are being questioned by health workers.

"Nakes are risking their lives, they are the support for families and people who are exposed to COVID-19. Therefore, there is no reason not to immediately provide incentives that are their right," he said.

According to him, the incentives for regional health workers come from the health operation costs (BOK) and the General Allocation Fund (DAU) or Revenue Sharing Funds (DBH), which are distributed by the central government to regional governments.

Compared to 2020, the realization of the disbursement of health workers incentives until July 20, 2021 is said to be still very minimal.

Puan mentioned that the Ministry of Finance data stated that in 2020 there were 848,885 health workers receiving incentives related to handling COVID-19.

However, in 2021, 50,849 health workers have only received these incentives with a nominal value of Rp.

"That's very lame. Local governments must be more agile and more concerned about resolving the issue of disbursing incentives for health workers," he said.

In addition, Puan appreciated the steps taken by the Minister of Home Affairs to directly reprimand regional heads who were deemed not optimal in using the budget reallocation policy, including for health workers incentives.

He reminded the regional government not to wait for a warning to optimally carry out the budget reallocation mandate because the policy should be based on the heart, seeing the condition of the people and health workers who are dealing directly with the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Don't wait for the reprimand, then there will be an improvement in the realization of the budget disbursement, including for this health worker incentive," he said.