They Are Worried That The Jakarta Social Assistance Fund Will Miss The 2020 Budget Discussion

Crowds staged a demonstration about the 2020 Jakarta social assistance budget (Diah Ayu Wardani / VOI)

JAKARTA - The polemic for the 2020 DKI budget draft between the DKI Provincial Government and the DPRD has provoked the awareness of a number of DKI residents to ensure that social welfare programs exist so that they do not escape discussion.

This afternoon, the masses from the Indonesian People's Struggle Union (SPRI) held a demonstration in front of the DKI DPRD Building, Jalan Kebon Sirih, Central Jakarta. They came using two rented public transportation and parked their vehicle in front of the DPRD building.

Each of them held a poster in a uniform shape, and a large banner was spread across the front row of the demonstrators. Several brooms, which looked new, were held high to enliven the speech.

"We, SPRI Jakarta, came here to question the commitment of DKI Governor Anies Baswedan and the DPRD regarding their support for the welfare of the poor," said Secretary General of the Indonesian People's Struggle Union Dika Moehammad at the location, Wednesday, November 13.

Crowds staged a demonstration about the 2020 Jakarta social assistance budget (Diah Ayu Wardani / VOI)

They think that the DKI Provincial Government and the DPRD are not truly committed to the welfare of the poor people of Jakarta. You see, there is a decrease in social protection programs in Jakarta, from 2018 amounting to IDR 1.92 trillion to IDR 1.57 trillion in 2019.

In fact, out of 264,788 poor households in Jakarta, only 65 thousand poor families received the Family Hope Program (PKH), and as many as 170 thousand families received Non-Cash Food Assistance (BPNT).

"This means that there are still 200 thousand poor families who have not received PKH, and as many as 94,788 poor families have not received BPNT," said Dika.

Dika is worried that the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government will again reduce the social assistance budget for the poor in 2020. The reason is that there are findings of odd budget ceilings for a number of procurement of goods which are temporary and deemed unnecessary.

For example, the purchase of Aibon glue for Rp. 126 billion, grass clippers Rp. 491 billion, folio books Rp. 78 billion, Tipex Rp. 24 billion, thinner Rp. 40.1 billion, helmet project Rp. 34.27 billion, and so on.

In fact, according to Dika's calculations, the DKI Provincial Government can use the budget line to finance 200 thousand poor families who have not received PKH and BNPT.

"With the assumption that each family member receives an assistance value of Rp. 3 million per year, it only requires Rp. 600 billion for PKH. Then, for 94,788 BPNT social assistance, a budget allocation of Rp. 125 billion is needed," he explained.