Team set up for safety net scheme<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government appointed a private organization
\nled by former finance minister Mar'ie Muhammad to distribute aid
\nto millions of needy Indonesians under its social safety net
\nprogram yesterday.<\/p>\n
Mar'ie, known during his days in the cabinet as \"Mr. Clean\",
\npromised the work of the Indonesian Committee for Humanitarian
\nPrograms (KKI) would be transparent and clean. The organization
\nwill handle donations to alleviate poverty in the country.<\/p>\n
All donations would be audited by the international accounting
\nfirm Prasetio Utomo-Arthur Andersen, Mar'ie said after signing
\nthe agreement between his organization and the government.<\/p>\n
State Minister of Population Ida Bagus Oka represented the
\ngovernment at the signing ceremony.<\/p>\n
\"KKI will supervise the distribution of donations,\" confirmed
\nHaryono Suyono, the Coordinating Minister for People's
\nWelfare\/Poverty Eradication, who also attended the signing
\nceremony.<\/p>\n
The government's ability to ensure that donations reach the
\nintended recipients has been undermined by growing reports of
\nrampant corruption in the bureaucracy.<\/p>\n
Mar'ie said his organization has received the support of the
\nWorld Bank, albeit indirectly.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that Bondan Winarno, who is the organization's
\nsecretary, is a World Bank consultant. The bank last month led a
\nconsortium to raise $7.9 billion in new soft loans to Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The committee is made up of high profile public figures
\nincluding former health minister Sujudi, former ambassador to the
\nUnited Kingdom J.E. Habibie, physician Pratiwi Sudharmono, social
\nworker Rihna Azrul Azwar and businessmen Bambang N. Rachmadi,
\nChairul Tanjung and Hoesein Soeropranoto.<\/p>\n
It is a non-profit organization and will work to alert
\ninternational society about the urgent need for food and
\nmedicines in the country, Mar'ie said.<\/p>\n
In a statement, KKI said its medium term goals were to
\npreserve basic social services and in the longer term it would
\nendeavor to provide economic opportunities and build the capacity
\nfor self-sufficiency.<\/p>\n
The current economic crisis has sent the number of Indonesians
\nliving below the poverty line from 11 percent of the total
\npopulation of 202 million to more than 40 percent, the Central
\nBureau of Statistics revealed last month. The bureau predicts
\nthat 48 percent of the population, or 95.8 million people, will
\nbe living below the poverty line by the end of this year.<\/p>\n
With inflation running at 60 percent and the price of food and
\nmedicine soaring, many people have found themselves impoverished.<\/p>\n
About six million children failed to re-register for school in
\nJuly because their parents could not afford the tuition fees.<\/p>\n
The government has introduced various social-safety net
\nschemes to cushion the poor from the impact of the economic
\ncrisis. They include providing food and medicines at heavily
\nsubsidized prices and providing school grants to poor families.<\/p>\n
Mar'ie said KKI would collect donations from all sectors of
\nthe economy, including the private sector, and distribute the
\nmoney to poor families.<\/p>\n
The committee will enlist the help of mosques, churches and
\ntemples to distribute food, and community health centers to
\ndistribute medicines, he said. (01)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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