PKH Beneficiaries Will Get Rice Social Assistance

JAKARTA (September 12, 2020) - In the corridor of handling the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Social Affairs continues to provide social protection to affected residents in order to help ease the burden on residents economically.

On the sidelines of the Finalization of the Preparation of Technical Guidelines and Books Best Practice for the Graduation of Beneficiary Families (KPM) of the Family Hope Program (PKH) in Jakarta, the Director General of Social Protection and Security, Pepen Nazaruddin, said that PKH is one of the programs that contributes significantly indirectly, namely by providing social assistance (bansos) to the beneficiaries from once every three months to every month.

"PKH has indirectly helped the handling of COVID-19, especially for the KPM, from the initial disbursement of social assistance funds every 3 months, now it is monthly," said Pepen in Jakarta, Thursday (10/9).

Furthermore, he said there was a new type of assistance launched by the Ministry of Social Affairs in collaboration with Bulog, namely the Rice Social Assistance (BSB) for KPM. According to him, there are several considerations underlying the granting of BSB for KPM.

"KPM PKH is designated as a BSB recipient with considerations, first, PKH participants are poor and vulnerable families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. They are registered in the Social Welfare Integrated Data (DTKS) where the data has been updated,” he explained.

Second, he continued, in the families of PKH participants there are components of children, the elderly, and even people with disabilities who need to get protection and nutritional fulfillment.

As for the third consideration, said Pepen, PKH already has a good HR structure, making it easier for the process of mentoring and monitoring the BSB program.

"The PKH Facilitators can also participate in controlling the accuracy of the target, the accuracy of the number, the quality, the size," the bespectacled man asked.

With the BSB program, said Pepen, the duties of the PKH Facilitator have increased. "So, at the same time as socializing the social assistance rice, optimizing the existing potential because the transporter of rice socal assistance will certainly really need the help from you all in the field until KPM received it," said Pepen.

Finally, according to Pepen, PKH participants are not the target of the Basic Food Social Assistance (BSS) and Cash Social Assistance (BST) programs, "So this allows KPM PKH to receive social assistance in the form of rice," he said.

Pepen hopes that the new BSB program will run smoothly and reap success. "Hopefully this rice social assistance can be successful because this success reflects the success of PKH as well, including PKH human resources," he concluded.