30,000 poor vendors to get Rp 4b<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Almost 30,000 needy vendors in Bekasi municipality will receive
\nfinancial aid to develop their businesses as part of a government
\nprogram to alleviate poverty.<\/p>\n
Each vendor will receive between Rp 500,000 (US$56) and Rp 2
\nmillion, which is interest-free and must be repaid within two
\nyears, Antara reported.<\/p>\n
The central government has allocated Rp 4 billion toward the
\nUrban Poverty Alleviation Program (P2KP) in Bekasi. The fund will
\nbe distributed to 29,148 poor people whose applications were
\napproved by their respective subdistrict's Self-financing
\nCommunity Board. The applications were submitted to the chiefs of
\neach subdistrict's Self-financing Group.<\/p>\n
Bekasi Deputy Mayor Mochtar Mohammad underlined the importance
\nof the program in alleviating poverty, saying that poverty could
\nincrease the crime rate.<\/p>\n
He said on Thursday that people who are categorized as \"poor\"
\nwere those who could not afford medical treatment at Community
\nHealth Centers (Puskesmas), could not afford two meals a day, and
\nwere homeless.<\/p>\n
\"If the local administration fails to alleviate poverty, it is
\nlikely that there will be more crimes,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said that the administration would evaluate the program and
\nassess its results, and promised to punish any officials who
\nabused the fund.<\/p>\n
\"Whoever embezzles money from the fund will face the law,\" he
\nwarned.<\/p>\n
The program is similar to the Subdistrict Community
\nEmpowerment Program (PPMK) in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The city administration has allocated Rp 500 million toward
\neach of the 267 subdistricts here to help small-scale traders
\ndevelop their businesses.<\/p>\n
However, the program, which commenced two years ago, has been
\nmarred by various irregularities involving subdistrict officials
\nand subdistrict council members.<\/p>\n
The program has also failed, because in many cases, the
\nrecipients did not receive any entrepreneurship training on how
\nbest to use the fund. There were also others who spent the money
\nnot to develop their business, but for personal use, including
\nbuying consumer goods such as televisions and refrigerators.<\/p>\n
Amid widespread irregularities in the program, activists here
\nhave called for the suspension of the distribution of this year's
\nfund.<\/p>\n
The city administration, however, has rejected the demand,
\nsaying that a subdistrict chief would be assigned to monitor
\nclosely the disbursement of the money, which is managed by the
\nsubdistrict council.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/30000-poor-vendors-to-get-rp-4b-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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