Friday, March 29, 2024 | 19:38 WIB

FOOD AID FOR RAMADHAN
Enough to tame inflation?

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Jakarta, IO – Good news for the people came at the start of the fasting month. The Government plans to distribute food assistance worth Rp 8.26 trillion over the next three months, aimed at suppressing inflation. There are at least three staple commodities that constitute the social aid program __ rice, eggs and chicken meat. 

According to the Government’s announcement, 10-kg bags of rice will be distributed to 21.3 million beneficiary households, based on the Social Affairs Ministry’s Integrated Data for Social Welfare (DTKS). Meanwhile, 2 million households, as determined by the National Population and Family Planning Board (BKKBN), will get packages of eggs and chicken meat. 

Indeed, this is a good initiative that needs to be commended. Moreover, it’s launched during Ramadan, when prices of staple foods tend to increase significantly, tracking higher demand. The food aid will certainly go a long way in helping low-income communities cope with food price inflation. 

However, the Government’s plan raises several questions. First, by using DTKS as the basis for determining eligible recipients, it can be inferred that they are the same recipients as the Family Hope and Non-Cash Food Assistance programs. This can potentially exacerbate the problem of uneven aid distribution, as happened in the past. It was widely reported that many poor families received nothing at all, while others received more than they deserved. 

Second, there is a statement from the Social Affairs Minister that her ministry is only tasked with providing the DTKS, not distributing the food packages. This implies a lack of coordination between relevant ministries/agencies. We hope that this issue can be rectified to ensure that the program is not beset by data inaccuracy or uneven distribution. 

It is a wise policy to leave the distribution of all social assistance to the Social Affairs Ministry because this is its main role. We do not want to see social assistance programs used as political tool to fish for voters, especially in the run-up to the general election next year. Not involving the Social Affairs Ministry will only fuel speculations that the food assistance program will be hijacked by political interests. 

Third, the distribution of food assistance is contrary to the Government’s previous policy direction, which sought to phase away assistance in the form of in-kind goods. We still remember that in 2016, President Jokowi issued a directive to change the distribution of rice-for-the-poor (raskin) to NonCash Food Assistance (BNPT). 

This new system is stipulated in Presidential Regulation 63/2017 on distribution of Non-Cash Social Assistance. Through the use of electronic cards, the distribution of social assistance is expected to be more efficient and more accurate in terms of target, amount, time, quality and administration. In addition, it will make it easier for the public to access formal financial services provided by banks, in order to accelerate financial inclusion program. 

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