Social Minister Meets Natuna Community, Distributes BST for Handling the Impact of COVID-19

NATUNA (September 22th 2020) - Minister of Social Affairs Juliari P. Batubara visited Natuna Regency, Riau Islands Province to hand over basic food assistance and directly monitor the distribution of cash social assistance for handling the impact of COVID-19.

Arriving in Natuna Regency, the Minister of Social Affairs headed to the Selat Lampa TPI, Tiga Island Sub-district to attend the 2020 Prevent Tangkal Operation Social Service. This activity is a collaboration between the Maritime Security Agency (Bakamla) with the Ministry of Social Affairs and the National Board for Disaster Management (BPNB) in the form of providing social assistance for basic necessities to residents. Natuna residents and health assistance which was symbolically handed over to representatives of health workers in Natuna.

The basic food assistance was symbolically given to 75 representatives of Natuna Regency residents from Pulau Tiga Sub-district, Tiga Barat Island District, South Bunguran District, and Pulau Laut District.

The activity was carried out by implementing a strict COVID-19 health protocol by requiring all attendees and participants to take the COVID-19 Antigen Swab which was carried out by a joint team from Pulau Tiga Health Center, Pulau Tiga Barat Health Center, Marine Composites Medical Team, and Bakamla Medical Team. .

In his direction, the Minister of Social Affairs expressed his enthusiasm to be able to see, meet, and closely monitor how the process of distributing Cash Social Assistance (BST) in the Natuna Regency area.

"I saw firsthand the social life of our brothers and sisters in Natuna. I want to meet and closely monitor the process of distributing Cash Social Assistance (BST) in this region," said the Minister of Social Affairs, Tuesday (22/09).

Mustofa Kamal (50), one of the community representatives who received basic food assistance, admitted that the difficulty he had faced since the COVID-19 pandemic was the decline in sales of caught fish. "The catch is a lot, but they are not selling well because activities in the market have stopped due to the Corona virus," said this resident of Cemaga Village, South Bungutan District.

According to Mostofa, over the last six months his income has decreased drastically, making it difficult to meet his daily basic needs. The fish that did not sell, he salted it so that it could still be consumed by the family. He hopes that government assistance can flow to his village so that the fishermen's economy is helped.

After attending the 2020 Preventive Operation Social Service, the Minister of Social Affairs accompanied by the Director General of PFM visited the Ranai Post Office, Natuna Regency to see the process of disbursing Cash Social Assistance (BST). During this visit, the Minister of Social Affairs greeted and had a dialogue with BST recipients and reminded that the distribution of BST should always follow health protocols, both during distribution and after receiving assistance.

To note, the total recipients of the 2020 Basic Food Social Assistance in Natuna Regency both for the January and February periods with a value of IDR 150,000 and for the March to December period of IDR 200,000 are 3,175 beneficiary families (KPM). As for the Cash Social Assistance (BST), the total beneficiaries in Natuna district are 5,784 KPM whose distribution has entered the 6th stage with an assistance value of IDR 300,000 per family per month.

These two types of social assistance are Social Safety Net policies in the context of handling the impact of COVID-19. Basic Food Social Assistance and Cash Social Assistance are part of the JPS which are under the responsibility of the Directorate General of Poverty Handling.

Accompanying the Minister of Social Affairs were Director General of PFM Asep Sasa Purnama, Director General of Socil Empowerment Edi Suharto, and Director of K2KRS Joko Irianto, Regent of Natuna Regency, Head of Social Office of Riau Islands Province, Director of BNPB Mitigation, Head of Bakamla RI, and Head of PT POS.