BANJARBARU CITY (15 September 2021) - The Minister of Social Affairs, Tri Rismaharini made a working visit with the agenda of matching data on recipients of social assistance for the Family Hope Program (PKH) and Non-Cash Food Assistance (BPNT)/Sembako Program in the South Kalimantan Province. The activity was carried out at the Banjarmasin Social Welfare Education and Training Center (BBPPKS), East Ulin Foundation, Landasan Ulin District, Banjar Baru City. (15/09)

 

In matching the data, the Minister of Social Affairs observed that the number of undistributed and non-transactional assistance from the Basic Food Program in South Kalimantan Province was still quite high. Given the geographical conditions that are less likely to be distributed, the Minister of Social Affairs provides a solution for the state banks association, namely assisting at the same time in the distribution of PKH and BPNT/Sembako Programs. "We want to help KPM but we also don't want to burden you (the banks) so later on for PKH and BPNT assistance in the area, they will be combined and given in cash," she said.

 

The Minister of Social Affairs sees that there are difficulties in distributing social assistance in areas with difficult geographical conditions, making travel costs higher. "Geographically there is something unfair when the cost of the trip is greater than the value of the assistance," explained the Minister of Social Affairs.

 

In this activity, she also said that in the future hard-to-reach areas in the province of South Kalimantan will be as Remote Indigenous Communities (KAT) to increase the type of assistance in the form of road construction so that distribution partners can easily reach them. "If the location is difficult to reach, we will use the KAT budget so that later access roads will be made to facilitate distribution," said the Minister of Social Affairs.

 

In matching the data for the Sembako Program in Banjarbaru City, there are still around 4,373 KPM from 56,407 recipients who have not made transactions to date. Seeing this, the Minister of Social Affairs appealed to channeling banks, social services, and social assistants to coordinate with each other in distributing this assistance. "I ask the bank to unblock and the social service and assistants to coordinate to complete this distribution," said the Minister of Social Affairs.

 

Present at the event were the Special Staff to the Minister Social Affairs for Communication and Mass Media, Don Rozano Sigit, Director General of PFM, Asep Sasa Purnama, Director General of Social Rehabilitation, Harry Hikmat, Director General of Social Empowerment, Edi Suharto, Director General of Social Protection and Security, Pepen Nazaruddin, Secretary of the Directorate General of PFM, Beni Sujanto, Director of PFM Region II, I Wayan Wirawan, ranks of the Banjarbaru City Social Service, Banjarmasin City Social Service and representatives from Himbara from Bank BRI and Bank Mandiri in South Kalimantan Province.