Assistance funds for low-income people disbursed

Assistance funds for low-income people disbursed

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Following the House of Representatives' approval last month of
the 2005 state budget revision, the government has disbursed Rp
13.39 trillion (some US$1.36 billion) in assistance funds for
low-income families across the country.

"The Ministry of Finance has begun disbursing the funds, which
is expected to reach the end-recipients within one to three weeks
from now," Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Alwi Shihab
said on Tuesday.

The funds come from money saved on the massive fuel subsidy
after the government increased the prices of some fuels earlier
this year.

Alwi said the Rp 13.39 trillion consisted of Rp 6.27 trillion
(about $639 million) for the education sector, Rp 3.78 trillion
for health care and Rp 3.34 trillion for rural infrastructure
development.

Alwi said the disbursement had been delayed by about six
months because of the prolonged deliberation of the budget
revision at the House, which insisted the government implement a
more effective disbursement system.

Explaining the disbursement of the assistance funds for the
education sector, Minister of National Education Bambang Sudibyo
said the money would be disbursed directly to the principals of
recipient schools.

Bambang said 172,000 elementary schools throughout the country
would receive Rp 235,000 for each of their students, and 33,000
junior high schools would receive Rp 365,000 per student.

Selected vocational and high school students will receive
assistance through scholarships.

"If the money is enough to cover the schools' operational
costs, then the schools will not be allowed to request any fees
from their students," he said.

Bambang expects this scheme will lead to the existence of
"free schools" in the country in support of the government's
nine-year compulsory education program. He hopes that free
education for all students will eventually become permanent when
the government is able to allocate at least 20 percent of the
state budget for education by 2009.

Regarding assistance funds for health care, Alwi said the
money would be disbursed to some 36 million low-income families
and individuals through state health insurance company PT Askes.

Underdeveloped villages in the country will be prioritized in
the disbursement of funds for rural infrastructure development.
Villages will receive Rp 150 million each for the construction of
roads, bridges, irrigation dams and drinking water facilities.

Separately, the head of the finance ministry's Economics,
Financial and International Collaboration Studies Agency, Anggito
Abimanyu, said the government was considering disbursing
assistance funds directly to low-income families beginning next
year.

"We could start by improving the distribution of subsidized
rice for the poor and then providing fertilizer for farmers," he
said.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie agreed,
saying that improving the focus of the fuel subsidy would
eventually mean reducing the subsidy for industries and
transferring this money directly to the needy.

Disbursing subsidies directly to the poor, however, would
require the Central Statistics Agency to prepare a more
comprehensive database of low-income families in the country.