(The aid should be given) in accordance with the financial capacity of each regional government...Jakarta (ANTARA) - Home Affairs Minister Muhammad Tito Karnavian has issued a circular letter asking all governors, district heads, and mayors to provide financial assistance to the Cianjur district government to help earthquake victims.
"(The aid should be given) in accordance with the financial capacity of each regional government as well as the mechanism stipulated in the law," he stated in the circular received on Tuesday.
The financial assistance can be sourced from the regional budget (APBD) of each local government.
The Circular Letter Number 900.1.1/8479/SJ on financial assistance to the Cianjur district government for the handling of residents affected by natural disasters was signed on November 28, 2022.
In the circular, the minister also outlined various regulations that can serve as the basis for regional governments in providing the assistance, for instance, Law Number 17 of 2003 concerning State Finance.
Article 28, paragraph (4) of the law states that in an emergency situation, regional governments can make unallocated expenditures, which can be proposed in the APBD amendment plan and/or submitted in the budget realization report (LRA).
Another regulation is Government Regulation (PP) Number 12 of 2019 concerning regional financial management.
Related news: Cianjur residents may return home as aftershocks subside: BNPB
Article 67 of the regulation stipulates that financial assistance spending can be given to other regional governments for regional cooperation, increasing financial capacity, and other specific purposes.
"The other specific purposes (mentioned in Article 67) is also providing benefits to the providers and/or recipients of the financial assistance. Hence, it includes helping the Cianjur district government to handle the communities affected by natural disasters," the minister said.
In addition, Article 166 of PP Number 12 of 2019 emphasizes that the local government can propose expenditures for the emergency fund whose budget is not available in the revised APBD draft.
Earlier, Karnavian said that the rest of the Cianjur district government's unexpected expenditures (BTT) fund was only Rp5 billion, while the remaining BTT budget of the West Java provincial government was Rp20 billion.
The amount will not be sufficient for the district to optimally recover from the impacts of the disaster, he said.
According to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), as of Tuesday (November 29), the 5.6-magnitude earthquake, which hit Cianjur district on November 21, had claimed 327 lives.
In addition, 13 people remained missing, while 108,720 residents took refuge at 39,985 shelters.
Related news: Cianjur quake death toll reaches 323: district head
Related news: Cianjur quake's aftershocks become rare with smaller magnitude: BMKG
Translator: Boyke Watra, Uyu Liman
Editor: Suharto
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