I expect that the people would wait. Inquire about this with the village apparatusBogor, W Java (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) acknowledged that the social assistance to alleviate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic had yet to reach beneficiaries in some regions.
"I expect that the people would wait. Inquire about this with the village apparatus," Jokowi remarked while observing the distribution of cash transfer (BLT) to beneficiaries at the Bogor Post Office, Bogor, West Java, on Wednesday.
The first phase of distribution of social assistance in Bogor City is almost complete.
"The first phase (of the distribution) has yet to be 100 percent complete. Here (in Bogor), it is the last day to complete (the aid distribution)," Jokowi remarked.
However, the head of state did reveal that beneficiaries in some other regions had yet to receive the social assistance.
"In other places, I have checked that only some 10 percent of the residents have received the BLT," he pointed out.
The government has offered several forms of social assistance amid the COVID-19 outbreak, including the cash transfer program, Family Hope Program (PKH), Non-Cash Food Assistance program, and cash transfer from the Village Fund.
"We have PKH, basic needs card, cash transfer, and there is also the BNPT, BLT village, and many more. We are upbeat about reaching some 55 percent of our population," the president affirmed.
The government has also increased the number of beneficiaries of the Family Hope Program (PKH), from 9.2 million to 10 million families and beneficiaries of the Non-Cash Food Assistance Program, from 15 million to 20 million families.
"We hope that the social assistance would be able to boost the people's purchasing power, and furthermore domestic consumption can return to normal," he stated.
To this end, Jokowi has made assurance of streamlining the data of beneficiaries for disbursement of the second phase of social assistance.
"In the wake of this unexpected COVID-19 pandemic, one, two, or three issues pertaining to data could not yet be improved. During the second phase of distribution, Insya Allah (God willing), it will be better," he noted.
The president observed the distribution of cash transfer to beneficiaries in Bogor City in the company of Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhadjir Effendy, Social Affairs Minister Juliari Batubara, and Bogor Mayor Bima Arya.
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EDITED BY INE
Translator: Hanni Sofia, Sri Haryati
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2020
