Govt launches 'rice for the poor' program<\/p>\n
Johannes Simbolon, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The National Logistics Agency (Bulog) will distribute a total
\nof 2.35 million tons of low-priced rice to 9.79 million poor
\nhouseholds across the country this year under the so-called \"Rice
\nfor the Poor\" program launched on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Bulog's head Widjanarko Puspoyo said the rice would be sold at
\na price of Rp 1,000 (10.45 US cents) per kilogram and that each
\nfamily would receive a total of 20 kilograms per month throughout
\nthe year.<\/p>\n
In comparison, the lowest quality rice, IR 64, now sells for
\naround Rp 3,000 per kilogram in many marketplaces across the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
\"We hope these rice allocations will be delivered to the needy
\nthis year and the program will be implemented properly and
\nwithout any irregularities, as occurred in previous years,\"
\nWidjanarko was quoted by Antara as saying when launching the
\nprogram in the Kapuk district of Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro
\nwas present at the launch.<\/p>\n
Widjanarko did not provide details of the mechanism through
\nwhich the rice would be distributed.<\/p>\n
At the peak of the economic crisis in 1998, when tens of
\nmillions of poor families suffered from a combination of soaring
\nprices for many commodities and rice shortages due to drought,
\nthe government launched the so-called social safety net program,
\nincluding rice distribution for the poor, funded by the World
\nBank.<\/p>\n
The rice was distributed to poor families by the so-called
\nVillage Resilience Board (LKMD), which is known as a corrupt
\norganization at the village and district administration level.<\/p>\n
However, many irregularities were reported in the
\nimplementation of the program, including corrupt officials
\nselling the rice at a price higher than that set by the
\ngovernment and rice being distributed to non-needy families.<\/p>\n
Moreover, most of the funds allocated to the social safety net
\nprogram fell prey to corruption by a number of politicians, due
\nto a lack of adequate internal controls.<\/p>\n
The World Bank stopped channeling funds to the program in
\n1999.<\/p>\n
Widjanarko said Bulog would use the so-called \"social
\ncompensation fund\" to finance the \"rice for the poor\" program.
\nThe \"social compensation funds\" are those to be collected by the
\ngovernment as a result of the reduction in fuel subsidies planned
\nfor this year.<\/p>\n
Purnomo earlier said the funds would total Rp 2.8 trillion,
\nwhich would be used to finance various social programs, including
\nRp 500 billion for food programs.<\/p>\n
Widjanarko admitted that there had been a number of
\ndeficiencies in the distribution of rice to the poor in previous
\nyears, but he said that the government had vowed not to repeat
\nthe same mistakes and was committed to constant improvements to
\nthe program.<\/p>\n
\"For this year's food for the poor program, Bulog together
\nwith the regional administrations has improved the records kept
\non poor families so that the program will not miss its targets,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
He said that, based on the government's data, there were 14.7
\nmillion families across the country who fell into the \"poor\"
\ncategory and as such deserved to receive assistance under the
\n\"rice for the poor\" program. But the government this year can
\nonly afford to provide sufficient rice funds for 9.79 million
\npoor families.<\/p>\n
Bulog would distribute 200,000 tons of rice across the country
\nunder the program this month, he said.<\/p>\n
In the past, many poor families complained that Bulog had
\ndistributed low-quality rice to them.<\/p>\n
Widjanarko said the agency would use locally-produced rice in
\nthe program, but provided an assurance of its quality.<\/p>\n
\"For sure, the color of rice that we shall distribute is not
\nas white as the imported rice's because that is how the locally-
\nproduced rice looks, except for the rojolele rice.<\/p>\n
\"But I can guarantee that the rice is edible and soft,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-launches-rice-for-the-poor-program-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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