Funds to be given poor next month<\/p>\n
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government says it is ready to disburse funds to millions of
\nlow-income families next month to help cushion the impact of the
\nplanned increase in fuel prices.<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Alwi Shihab said
\nthe government had prepared ways to monitor the disbursement
\nprocess amid the possibility of embezzlement or even riots.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a press conference on Friday following a meeting
\nwith other top government officials on the issue, Alwi said the
\nMinistry of Home Affairs had been assigned to oversee the
\nmonitoring work and to handle people's complaints.<\/p>\n
\"We are also coordinating with the National Police in the
\nsupervision of the scheme to prevent people from using fake ID
\ncards,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The government plans to provide cash assistance of Rp 100,000
\n(about US$10) monthly to each family of five with a maximum
\nmonthly income of Rp 700,000 or Rp 175,000 per capita. Through
\nthe assistance it is hoped that the fuel price increase, which is
\nplanned for early October, will not hit the some 15.5 million
\nlow-income families in the country so hard. Early reports said
\nprices could increase by as much as 50 percent on average.<\/p>\n
State Minister of National Development Planning Sri Mulyani
\nIndrawati said Rp 300,000 would be paid to the families every
\nthree months.<\/p>\n
\"We'll give it every three months for easier management and
\nexecution. It will start in October,\" Mulyani said.<\/p>\n
Low-income families will be issued ID cards from state-owned
\npostal office PT Pos Indonesia. They will receive the funds
\nthrough Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), which has branches\/offices
\nat village level.<\/p>\n
Alwi said the registration process of low-income families in
\n18 of the country's 32 provinces was near 100 percent completion.<\/p>\n
It is not clear for how long the cash assistance will be
\nprovided.<\/p>\n
Through providing the cash assistance the government hopes to
\nminimize public protest over the politically sensitive
\nfuel-price-increase policy, which is unavoidable to help ease the
\nburden on the state budget in covering the costly fuel subsidy
\nand in avoiding a fiscal crisis as international oil prices soar.<\/p>\n
This is the first time the government has provided cash
\nassistance for low-income families, a scheme that may be prone to
\nabuse.<\/p>\n
Alwi said the government would be tough on people who took
\nadvantage of the facility, saying the embezzlement of funds
\nintended for low-income families would be regarded as a serious
\ncrime.<\/p>\n
People who steal or misuse identity cards could be charged
\nunder Article 266 of the Criminal Code on document forgery, which
\ncarries a maximum penalty of seven years' imprisonment, he said.<\/p>\n
Compensation schemes for poor families in the past have
\ninvolved indirect non-monetary assistance such as subsidized
\nrice, labor-intensive projects, health services and subsidized
\neducation.<\/p>\n
Officials have deemed such schemes ineffective as they are
\nprone to abuse by government officials as the funds are not
\ndirectly handed to the recipients.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, Mulyani said that based on the government's
\nsimulation, the monthly payments of Rp 100,000 would be
\nsufficient to cushion the poor from the impact of the fuel price
\nincrease.<\/p>",
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