Member of Commission VIII DPR RI Achmad carried out monitoring and evaluation of the distribution of social aid funds for the underprivileged in four regions namely Bengkalis, Dumai, Siak, and Pekanbaru in Riau Province, from Feb 4 – Feb 6, 2022. Social aid is right on target and there are no deviations. According to him, the total budget disbursed is around IDR 1.2 trillion more, for all regions in Riau. The aid includes Non-Cash Food Assistance (BNPT), PPKM, and the Family Hope Program (PKH). All of these budgets are sourced from the 2021 State Budget.
“Since this is the 2021 budget, the distribution must be completed no later than February 15, 2022. If not the funds can be withdrawn again by the center. It’s a shame because we in Commission VIII have struggled to get this fund. That’s why I went to these four areas to evaluate directly that this social aid has been distributed to all of the people, and to the right parties,” said Achmad in a press statement received by Parliament on Tuesday (February 8, 2022).
The former Regent of Rokan Hulu explained that the social aid distributed to underprivileged communities was Cash Social Assistance (BST) of Rp. 300,000/recipient. The total recipients were recorded at 165,998 people, with a budget of IDR 299 billion. PPKM social aid was given to 187,000 recipients with a total budget of IDR 219 billion, and BSP social aid was distributed to 259,000 beneficiaries, with a total budget of IDR 682 billion.
“I hope that the social aid for the underprivileged can ease their burden, and I in Commission VIII will continue to fight for the social aid for the people of Riau,” the Democrat Party politician committed. From the results of the review, Achmad assessed that the distribution of social aid had gone smoothly. There are only a few obstacles to be evaluated in the future. First, there were families who received the aid who changed addresses but did not report to the village office or lurah office. Second, the recipient dies and the heirs are unknown. Third, the recipient of the social aid is not right on target.
“It’s not right on target, it means that families can afford but are listed as recipients of assistance. So, we have to fix something like this so it doesn’t happen again,” he said. Achmad explained that the distribution of social aid was aimed at helping the underprivileged in meeting their needs for proper food, so that their nutrition was also fulfilled. During the monitoring in the four areas, Achmad was accompanied by the Director of Poor Handling for Region 1 of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Mira Riati Kurniasih and her entourage from the Ministry of Social Affairs.