Minister of Social Affairs Saifullah Yusuf said the government is\npreparing a scheme to distribute social assistance (bansos) through the\nRed and White Village\/Urban Ward Cooperatives (KDMP). According to him,\nthe mechanism is still at the simulation stage and under regulatory\ndiscussion with the relevant ministries.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the essence is that social aid can later be distributed through\nthe Red and White Village Cooperative or Red and White Urban Ward\nCooperative,\u201d said Gus Ipul, as Saifullah Yusuf is familiarly known, at\nthe Ministry of Social Affairs office in Jakarta on Friday, 24 July\n2026.<\/p>\n
He explained that two schemes are being studied specifically for the\ndisbursement of cash assistance such as the Family Hope Programme (PKH).\nUnder the first scheme, distribution would still go through the banks of\nthe Association of State-Owned Banks (Himbara), but disbursement\nservices would be opened at Red and White village cooperative\noutlets.<\/p>\n
Under the second scheme, the government would open the option of\nchannelling social aid funds directly into cooperative accounts, to be\nsubsequently withdrawn by beneficiaries at the cooperative. \u201cWe are\nrunning simulations, testing the regulations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Gus Ipul said the change of scheme requires regulatory adjustment.\nThe Ministry of Social Affairs is still discussing the form of\nregulation considered the fastest, most effective, and capable of\naccelerating the delivery of assistance to the public.<\/p>\n
The distribution scheme will later be trialled first at a number of\ncooperatives that are ready. In the initial phase, the government will\nlikely still use Himbara as the distributor, but with service counters\nopened at cooperatives.<\/p>\n
In addition, Gus Ipul added, cooperative administrators will not be\ngiven the authority to verify social aid recipients. The determination\nof recipients, he said, will take place automatically through a digital\nsystem. Once the digitalisation of social aid is fully implemented,\nverification can be carried out using facial recognition of\nbeneficiaries.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo it will be automatic, especially once the digitalisation of\nsocial aid is fully complete. All beneficiaries will have their facial\nrecords on file, making it even easier,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The distribution of social aid through cooperatives is claimed to be\nmore effective because it makes it easier for people to collect their\nassistance. As cooperatives are located in every village, collection\npoints will be closer to beneficiaries\u2019 homes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it goes through the cooperative, it will certainly be much closer\nto the beneficiary\u2019s home, so they will not need to leave their\nvillage,\u201d he said. In addition, recipients can also directly buy basic\nnecessities at the cooperative after withdrawing their assistance.<\/p>\n
Gus Ipul believes the new scheme is sufficiently safe from the\npotential for aid deductions. \u201cThere will be no deductions; it is not\nallowed, and it is not possible to cut the aid,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The plan to make the Red and White cooperatives the distributor of\nsocial aid was disclosed by Coordinating Minister for Food Zulkifli\nHasan after a cabinet meeting led by President Prabowo Subianto at the\nPresidential Palace in Central Jakarta on Wednesday, 15 July 2026.\nZulkifli said the Red and White cooperatives would become government\ninfrastructure for distributing various forms of assistance, including\nsocial aid.<\/p>\n
\u201cSocial aid and subsidised goods must go through the village\ncooperatives later so that it is clear, because every village has one,\u201d\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Government assistance to be distributed through the Red and White\ncooperatives includes the 10-kilogram rice assistance, the Family Hope\nProgramme (PKH), and non-cash food assistance (BPNT).<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/social-affairs-minister-explains-scheme-for-distributing-social-assistance-via-village-cooperatives-1784890644", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }