“There are several regions that are not yet all out (in carrying out the program). It must truly be right on target, both in terms of the time and the location,” the ministry’s Inspector General, Tomsi Tohir, stated here on Monday.
Tohir made the statement while delivering his remarks at a meeting on securing food supply and prices ahead of the 2024 Eid al-Fitr organized by the National Food Agency (Bapanas).
Tohir remarked that several regions hold the cheap market, but the commodities sold under the program were only bought by civil servants and not by people in need.
To this end, he called on all regional governments to evaluate the cheap market implementation to ensure it truly targets people in need, so that it can control inflation.
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Tohir appealed to regional governments to pay attention to the prices of staple goods ahead of Eid, including conducting price monitoring in the field.
He urged regional governments and parties in the Regional Leadership Communication Forum (Forkopimda) to carry out monitoring and supervision to mitigate an increase in the prices of commodities, including fuel and liquified petroleum gas, as they can trigger an increase for others.
He stated that several commodities, including chicken eggs, garlic, cooking oil, rice, chicken meat, sugar, shallots, and chilies, were still experiencing price hikes in several areas. Hence, regional governments, including the Forkopimda, are urged to make control efforts.
Bapanas is currently working with various sectors, such as ministries, institutions, regional governments, and food associations, to carry out cheap food movement in 514 districts and cities to help people meet their needs ahead of Eid al-Fitr.
According to Bapanas Head Arief Prasetyo Adi, the movement will be carried out until April 9, 2024. In the cheap food movement, people can buy staple goods in accordance with the retail price ceiling set by the government.
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Translator: Muhammad Harianto, Raka Adji
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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