Inspector General of the ministry Dadang Iskandar said that after a team and two auditors were dispatched to the location, they found eggs among the buried packages.
The site reeked of rotten eggs, he added.
“So, if we see it from the condition, it is not only rice social aid, but also flour and eggs," he informed.
The Social Affairs Ministry’s inspectorate team cross-checked the packages retrieved from the location, which comprised 20kg and 5kg rice aid, with data from a database.
The packages of 20kg rice aid distributed by the ministry in 2020 had the words "President's assistance through Social Affairs Ministry" printed on them, he said.
However, the rice packages found buried in Depok bore no such printing.
He said that his administration was not sure if the buried packages were part of aid disbursed by the Social Affairs Ministry.
With regard to the buried social assistance, Logistics Indonesia explained that it is collaborating with a third party, PT SSI, which is working with the JNE delivery party.
Thus, the inspectorate team will pursue further investigations regarding the findings, because, according to the explanation from Logistics Indonesia, the assistance was not only from the Social Affairs Ministry, he said.
“There are also regional governments who also provide assistance in the form of sugar and eggs. The Social Affairs Ministry itself does not (allocate) eggs, nor flour. But in (practice), the condition is the reeking smell of rotten eggs and all kinds of things,“ he added.
Deputy for coordination for social welfare improvement at the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture, Andie Megantara, said that based on the results of the coordination of the Aid Team and Targeted Subsidies with the Social Affairs Ministry and the Social Affairs Office and Depok Police Force, approximately one ton of rice of the 'Beras Kita' (Our Rice) brand found buried in Depok was part of Presidential Special Assistance disbursed in 2020.
In 2020, the government distributed presidential assistance in the form of rice to 1.9 million beneficiary families in the Greater Jakarta area, he informed. Every family affected by the COVID-19 pandemic was provided 25 kilograms of rice.
The rice found in Depok is believed to have been part of Phases 2 and 4 of the 2020 presidential special assistance provision, Megantara said.
Related news: Rice packages buried in Depok are unfit for consumption: Ministry
Related news: Police still probing finding of buried aid packages in Depok
Translator: Devi N S R, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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