Home Minister Urges Regional Heads to Speed Up Social Aids Distribution

INDUSTRY.co.id - Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian has ordered governors, mayor, and regents to speed up distribution of social aids and social safety nets funded by regional budgets following the implementation of emergency public activity restrictions (PPKM Darurat) amid the surge in COVID-19 cases.

This order is ratified in the Instruction of Minister of Home Affairs Number 15 of 2021 on Emergency Public Activity Restrictions (PPKM) due to Corona Virus Disease 2019 in the islands of Java and Bali.

“Governors, regents, and mayors must speed up the distribution process of social aids and social safety nets funded by regional budgets,” Tito said as stated in the eighth dictum of the Instruction.

Tito added that should regional governments require more funding for the budget and distribution of social aids and social safety nets to support the implementation of emergency PPKM, they should rationalize and /or reallocate budgets from programs / activities with less priority.

The methods of budget rationalization and / or reallocation for additional funding for social aids / social safety nets budget and distribution to support the implementation of emergency PPKM are explained in Article 4 and Article 5 of Regulation of Minister of Home Affairs Number 20 of 2020 on COVID-19 Management Acceleration at Regional Government Level, and Article 3 to Article 6 of Regulation of Minister of Home Affairs Number 39 of 2020 on Priority of Allocating Budgets for Certain Activities, Allocation Amendment, and Regional Budget Use.

Meanwhile, in terms of speeding up the distribution and implementation of direct cash assistance from village fund (BLT-DD), Tito urged regents / mayors to accelerate village budget evaluation for villages that have not yet stipulated a village regulation on village budget, validated social aid beneficiary data, or recorded BLT-DD beneficiary data on OM-SPAN (online monitoring application for state budget treasury system) in accordance with the law.

Tito also urged regional leaders to synchronize social aids from the Central Government and social aids funded by regional budgets.

Echoing a similar sentiment, Interim Director General of Regional Administration Development of Ministry of Home Affairs Suhajar Diantoro asked regional heads to seek guidance from Instruction of Minister of Home Affairs Number 15 of 2021.

“Instruction of Minister of Home Affairs Number 15 of 2021 that has been issued, the eighth and ninth dictums can be used as guidelines for those in the regions, certainly governors, regents /  mayors have assigned their Regional Secretaries as head of the budget committee,” Suhajar said during coordination meeting of emergency PPKM implementation in Central Java and Yogyakarta provinces, Tuesday (06/07).

Suhajar also ordered that regional governments implement the conditions on public activity management and restriction regulated in the Instruction without hesitation.

“So that regional governments improve dissemination of emergency PPKM and, second, are careful in restricting or disciplining the people who are in the low-income or daily income groups,” he said.