JAKARTA (11 August 2020) - The government continues to strive to push back the economy and help the community by providing social assistance programs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the third quarter of 2020, Ministry of Social Affairs launched a social assistance program in the form of rice with the aim of reducing the economic burden on the community.

Minister of Social Affairs Juliari P. Batubara responded to the President's instruction which is the ministry encourages programs to leverage the economy. One of the way is by launching Rice Social Assistance which can help to reduce some of the economic burden on the community.

Furthermore, the Minister of Social Affairs stated that Rice Rice Social Assistance will be distributed to Beneficiary Families (KPM) participating in the Family Hope Program (PKH), which will be given for 3 consecutive months. The total target in this program is 10 million KPM.

In order to distribute Rice Social Assistance, Directorate General of Social Empowerment held the Socialization of the Implementation of the Rice Social Assistance through the Zoom Meeting as the first step to provide information to the Provincial Social Services, City / Regency Social Services, Provincial Coordinators, District Coordinators / PKH companion cities throughout Indonesia.

This rice social assistance program is one of the Social Safety Net (JPS) programs in handling COVID-19, apart from the regular PKH, basic food and BPNT programs that have been implemented previously.

"This medium quality rice social assistance aims to reduce the burden on public expenditures and meet people's food needs. The target of the Rice Social Assistance program is KPM PKH that worth 15kg / KPM / month. And for the technical implementation of distribution to the recipient, we work together with the Directorate General of Social Protection and Security, "explained Edi Suharto.

Directorate General of Social Protection and Security (Linjamsos) which has thousands of PKH Facilitators who will help distribute the Rice Social Assistance program can run well, because PKH Facilitators understand PKH recipients in their area of work.

"The role of the PKH Facilitators is the spearhead of the success of this rice social assistance program because you know very well the situation of the PKH recipients in their areas. Apart from that, it also helps the transporters to deliver the rice to the recipient's house,” explained the Director General for Social Security, Pepen Nazaruddin.

The data that will be used as the basis for rice social assistance recipients is the expansion data by name by address (BNBA). This data is the KPM PKH which received assistance in August 2020. The transporter is the party appointed by the Ministry of Social Affairs to assist the process of delivery the rice from Perum Bulog to KPM PKH.

Coordination between the local Social Service, Bulog, and PKH Facilitators is needed so that the distribution of social assistance rice runs well and correctly. The roles and responsibilities of each party involved are as follows:

- The Ministry of Social Affairs is responsible for coordinating, synchronizing, controlling, planning, budgeting, socializing, drafting guidelines, coordinating monitoring, and evaluating as well as managing complaints on the Rice Social Assistance Program

- Perum Bulog is responsible for the provision and distribution of Bansos Rice from the Perum Bulog warehouse to certain distribution points

- The Office of Social Affairs Services is responsible for monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the Rice Social Assistance Program in the districts / cities; complaint handling in the province; coordination of rice social assistance with Province Coordinator of PKH companion and regional government.

Secretary of the Directorate General of Social Empowerment, Secretary of the Directorate General of Social Protection and Security, Director of Family Social Security, Head of Validation and Termination of the Directorate General of Social Security, Head of the Program and Reporting Section of the Secretariat of the Directorate General of Dayasos, Head of Section for Human Resource Capacity Building at the Directorate General of Social Security, and base administration staff data from the Directorate General of Social Security were also attending the activities.