Remarks of President of the Republic of Indonesia on Limited Meeting on Effectiveness of Social Safety Net Program Distribution Tuesday, 7 April 2020 at 9.30 Western Indonesia Time at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta

Good morning,

Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

Distinguished Vice President,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In a bid to tackle the socioeconomic impacts following the spread of COVID-19, the Government has prepared funds amounting to Rp110 trillion for social safety net program for low-income families in the hope of helping them fulfill their basic needs and maintaining purchasing power.

The Government has increased the number of families in the Family Hope Program (PKH) from 9.2 million to 10 million families. The Government has also increased the benefits by approximately 25% and the frequency from once every three months to once a month.

The recipients of the Staple Card program has also increased from 15.2 million recipients to 20 million with an increasing value of 30% or from Rp150,000 to Rp200,000 and will be given for nine months. For Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi (Greater Jakarta areas), the Government is preparing a special family-based social assistance program for 3.7 million families, in which 1.1 million will be prepared by the Jakarta Provincial Government and 2.6 million will be prepared by the Central Government for two months, in accordance with the emergency response period stipulated by the COVID-19 Task Force. In addition, I have also ordered Minister of Social Affairs to immediately distribute 200,000 food packages to areas in Greater Jakarta.

As for the Pre-Employment Card, the distribution will start on 9 April. The budget has been increased from Rp10 trillion to Rp20 trillion with 5.6 million recipients, mostly are people who have been laid off, informal workers, as well as micro and small businesses actors affected by COVID-19.

Last week, I said that electricity tariffs for 24 million 450 VA customers were free of charge, while 7 million 900 VA customers were given 50% reduction in April, May and June.

Given the importance of those programs for the people, I would like to emphasize several points.

First, the implementation must be well-targeted. The data must synchronized according to names and addresses to make it more precise and accurate. Neighborhood units (RT) or community units (RW), village heads, and regional governments should also be involved.

Second, disburse it immediately, precisely, and fast.

Third, the channeling mechanism for the social safety net program should be as efficient as possible. Practical methods must be applied. Convoluted procedures that may confuse the public must be avoided. Mechanisms that can involve the micro business sectors, small businesses, food staple vendors in the market, motorcycle taxi services must also be designed so their businesses can grow and  their economy can keep going as well.

That concludes my statement.

I thank you.