Social Challenges Becomes More Complex, Commission VIII of The House of Representative Supports Ministry of Social Affairs’ Budget Reinforcement

TANGERANG (JUNE 9, 2023) - Commission VIII of the House of Representatives supports the Ministry of Social Affairs' proposed budget increase for the 2024 fiscal year. The proposed budget increase of Rp11.58 trillion is in response to the indicative ceiling for 2024 which has decreased compared to the previous year.

"The indicative ceiling for 2024 of the Ministry of Social Affairs is Rp77,828,866,946,000, - or a decrease of around Rp350 billion from the 2023 ceiling," said Minister of Social Affairs Tri Rismaharini during the Working Meeting of Commission VIIl of the House of Representatives with the Minister of Social Affairs with the agenda of Preliminary Discussion of the FY 2024 Draft State Budget and the 2024 RKP, in Tangerang City, Thursday (8/6).

One of the programs that received attention was the Integrated Welfare House Program (RST), which experienced a decrease in targets and budgets of more than 50% compared to 2023. In the indicative ceiling for 2024, the RST program is budgeted at Rp32 billion with a target of 1,500 beneficiary families (KPM). This is two times smaller than in 2023 where RST was budgeted to be received by 3,250 KPM with a budget of Rp67 billion.

The reduction in the RST Program is quite unfortunate for the people's representatives because the benefits are very much felt. Commission VIII member from the Partai Kesejahteraan Sosial (PKS) Iskan Qolba Lubis said the RST budget should not be reduced. "There should be an increase, but I don't know why it was reduced. The Ministry of Finance may think that poverty is reduced so (the poverty alleviation budget) is reduced. Like RST, it was quite a challenge, there are sectoral egos here. If we need to insist on this RST, because it is very good," he said when responding to the Minister of Social Affairs' presentation.

In line with Iskan, the Golkar Party faction represented by John Kenedy Azis was also concerned about the decline in the Ministry of Social Affairs budget. "The Ministry of Social Affairs has been seen in the community, there are still many of our unfortunate friends that we help. Regarding RST, if possible, it should not be stopped in 2023, especially for those who have been assessed," he said.

In addition to RST, funds for implementing ATENSI (Social Rehabilitation Assistance) for vulnerable groups fell from IDR 35 billion to IDR 23.5 billion. Whereas so far ATENSI has been used to respond quickly to community needs by the Ministry of Social Affairs centers in the regions. One of them is the operational costs of people with an illness, child victims of sexual violence, and urgent cases, requiring quick handling. In 2022, the Ministry of Social Affairs responded to 6,627 cases through community reports and media monitoring.

Another program whose budget has been cut is training and education for community empowerment. This program does not even get a budget at all in the indicative ceiling for 2024. This condition is quite unfortunate considering that in 2023, the Ministry of Social Affairs through the training center provided a lot of training for the community with the aim of improving welfare. Some of them are moringa processing training for groups of people with disabilities in Maumere NTT, batik and sewing training for women in Papua, and various other trainings held in several locations in Indonesia.

Seeing the decrease in the budget, Commission VIII DPR RI is committed to supporting the Ministry of Social Affairs to get an additional budget because there is no term for budget reduction even though the poverty rate is reduced. "The Ministry of Social Affairs should be increased, not reduced. During the minister's era, the road map to end poverty has been found through entrepreneurship, etc. So the state's commitment is actually present," said Commission VIII member from the PAN faction Yandri Susanto.

Another issue highlighted at the meeting was the budget blocking and automatic adjustment of Rp364 billion. Some of the main activities affected are the PENA Program, Empowerment of Remote Indigenous Communities (KAT), Local Wisdom Social Assistance, Social Compatibility Program, and Companion salaries in the regions.

Aside from looking at the budget reduction and blocking, the Minister of Social Affairs and the board members also revealed issues that hinder the distribution of social assistance and the accuracy of DTKS. In its recommendations, Commission VIII encouraged the distribution of PKH and BPNT social assistance through PT Pos. Based on their direct observations in the field, the legislators saw that PT Pos was more accessible and faster in distribution. In addition, the Ministry of Social Affairs is asked to improve the DTKS preparation mechanism so that distribution can be carried out in a targeted manner.

In the conclusion read by the Chairman of Commission VIII Ashabul Kahfi, the legislators understood and supported the proposal to increase the Ministry of Social Affairs budget in 2024 and were ready to advocate in the budget discussion with Budget Committee DPR RI.

Public Relations Bureau

Ministry of Social Affairs RI