It has been decided in the cabinet meeting, (the distribution of) social assistance in the form of basic needs will be extended until December, 2020.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The government will continue to distribute social assistance until December to help beneficiaries cope with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, and it will carry out village fund cash transfers until September, said Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.

"It has been decided in the cabinet meeting, (the distribution of) social assistance in the form of basic needs will be extended until December, 2020," Indrawati said after a limited cabinet meeting with President Joko Widodo at the Merdeka Palace here on Wednesday.

The meeting discussed the national economic recovery program and the revision of the state budget for 2020.

Earlier, the government had allocated a budget for the distribution of social assistance until September this year.

However, the minister said, from July to December, the value of the assistance will be reduced from Rp600 thousand per month to Rp300 thousand per month for beneficiaries in Greater Jakarta (Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi).

The assistance for residents outside Greater Jakarta will also be reduced from Rp600 thousand to Rp300 thousand, but they will receive it in cash.

"For residents outside Greater Jakarta, the assistance will be extended until December, with the amount lowered from Rp600 thousand to Rp300 thousand from July to December. The assistance will be transferred to the receivers' account, based on data from the Social Affairs Ministry or the local administrations," she elaborated.

Meanwhile, village fund cash transfers will be extended until September, with the quantum of assistance for the July-September period reduced from Rp600 thousand to Rp300 thousand per month.

As a result, the total allocation of village fund cash transfers will increase to Rp31.8 trillion.

A majority of the recipients of the social assistance are farmers (18.4 million), followed by traders and workers in the private sector (4.2 million), drivers and workers in the communication sector (1.3 million), fishermen (900 thousand), and the rest are from other sectors, Indrawati said.

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Translator: Indra Arief P, Sri Haryati
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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