Member of Commission IV DPR Asks Local Government to Provide Social Assistance for Small Fishermen

JAKARTA - Member of Commission IV of the House of Representatives (DPR), Daniel Johan, asked the local government (Pemda) to budget for mandatory social protection spending to support programs to deal with the impact of inflation.

One of them is social assistance (bansos) for small fishermen.

Daniel said this is by the Regulation of the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia Number 134/PMK.07/2022 concerning Mandatory Expenditures in the Context of Handling Inflation Impacts for the 2022 Fiscal Year. Where local governments are required to budget for social protection spending from October to December 2022.

"Such as the provision of social assistance for fishermen, motorcycle taxi drivers, MSME players, job creation, and/or subsidizing the public transport sector in the regions", he said in an official statement, Thursday, September 15.

Daniel said that the DPR, in this case, Commission IV, is ready to oversee the distribution of social support from the government for fishermen. This is to maintain purchasing power and suppress inflation.

"We in the House of Representatives will continue to oversee the implementation of the distribution of social assistance through the General Transfer Fund. We know that rising inflation will occur as a result of the increase in subsidized fuel prices", said Daniel.

In addition, Daniel also asked the government to update the data on recipients of social assistance.

He also reminded the potential for the emergence of new poor people or new vulnerable people due to inflation.

"Data collection for the poor and vulnerable poor who are affected by the increase in fuel prices must be carried out carefully. Do not let those who are entitled to receive assistance even be missed", he said.

Daniel also emphasized that the expansion of the distribution reach of the program to deal with the impact of inflation also needs to be really considered based on the needs and character of each region.

The government is also asked to pay attention to informal sector workers and casual workers in the marine and fisheries sectors, including marine tourism workers.

"Social cushion funds can be distributed to maintain the purchasing power of diesel fuel for fishing, or to support other SMEs in the maritime sector", said Daniel.

"The government must be able to reach them to reduce economic pressure due to the increase in subsidized fuel prices and rising inflation", he continued.

Moreover, due to the increase in fuel prices, many fishermen cannot go to sea due to the difficulty of boat supplies. Several fishermen also complained that they were starting to get into debt.

“In several fishing ports, now many fishing boats are not able to go to sea because they are hampered by fuel problems. Therefore, we hope that the social assistance for fishermen can be distributed quickly", said Daniel.

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