JAKARTA (April 1, 2020) - President Joko Widodo has announced additional spending and financing for the 2020 state budget for handling COVID-19, amounting to Rp405.1 trillion. In addition to the budget, the government allocated IDR10 trillion for social protection.
 
The budget allocation of Rp110 trillion for the social protection is directed as a social safety net (JPS). With this budget, it is expected that the grassroots can still fulfil their basic needs and maintain purchasing power.
 
The JPS program is also expected to be a cushion for the people in the lowest socioeconomic conditions so that it does not make things worse. As a ministry that has been struggling with programs for the poor, the Ministry of Social Affairs has two national programs related to social protection namely the Family of Hope Program (PKH) and the Groceries Program.
 
These two programs are the readiest to deal with the impact of COVID-19 for the grassroots. Both the format, design and mechanism have been effective and accountable. Responding to the President's direction, Social Minister Juliari P. Batubara immediately asked his staff run the program as soon as possible.
 
The Minister of Social Affairs Juliari gave direction, so that the Ministry of Social Affairs staff perform optimization steps by accelerating and maximizing the programs that have been running so far. This policy is expected to be an instrument to help the poor who are needed quickly.
 
The Secretary General of the Ministry of Social Affairs Hartono Laras said that the maximized and expanded PKH and the Groceries Program were ready to be launched. " just waiting for finalization in order to be poured directly to the community starting this April with a new format," said the Secretary General, in Jakarta, Wednesday (01/04/2020).
 
For PKH, it has been launched with a new format, starting April 2020. I.e. the number of recipients is maximized to 10 million beneficiary family (KPM), the distribution of which previously 3 months to per month from April to June 2020. KPM receives PKH twice.
 
The benefits also went up, such as the component of pregnant women from IDR 2.4 million to IDR 3 million per year, the early childhood component at IDR 3 million per year, the component for people with disabilities of IDR 2.4 million per year and so on. So, the increase for PKH was IDR 8.3 trillion, bringing the total budget for KPH to IDR 37.4 trillion.
 
For the Groceries Program the number of recipients was expanded to 20 million KPM from 15.2 million KPM or an additional 4.8 million KPM, the aid index provided for nine months starting from March to November 2020 rose 30% with details from Rp150,000 / KPM / month to Rp200,000 / KPM / month. So that the total budget allocation for the groceries program is Rp43.6 trillion.
 
Both of these mainstay programs are ready both related to data taken from the Integrated Social Welfare Data (DTKS) so far well managed and updated by the Social Welfare Data and Information Centre together with the regional government. Then from the aspect of the system and mechanism it has also been running well, especially with the state-owned banks (HIMBARA) and with the regional government.
 
Hartono also added that the assistance program for informal sector workers and day-to-day workers was currently being finalized especially in DKI Jakarta together with the Regional Government and other ministries / institutions including assistance for Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia.
 
"Both are being finalized and will be launched in the near future," he said.
 
Bureau of Public Relations
Ministry of Social Affairs