Food stall owners protest late payment

Food stall owners protest late payment

JAKARTA (JP): The city administration promised yesterday to
investigate allegations of delays in payment to many food stall
owners engaged by the Ministry of Social Services to provide
cheap meals to the poor.

Deputy Governor for Social Welfare Affairs Djailani said he
had requested the City Social Services Office look into the
matter.

"I've heard that some food stall owners haven't received the
payment, but we should investigate it first before making a
judgment.

"If our officials are involved in embezzling the funds, we
will not hesitate to take stern action against them."

He did not provide details on possible sanctions.

Former minister of social services Siti Hardijanti Rukmana,
better known as Tutut, who is also the oldest daughter of former
president Soeharto, launched a cheap food campaign on March 24 to
help reduce the burden of the poor during the monetary crisis.

It was mainly financed by the first-year salaries donated by
Soeharto and his Cabinet ministers, and through donations from
business tycoons.

The distribution of the inexpensive but nutritious meals was
conducted by 300 food stalls -- popularly known as "warteg" --
among low-income people in the city's five mayoralties. Each food
stall was required to provide meals worth Rp 1,500 each, with the
costs to be claimed at the organizing committee at the end of the
week.

Tutut had explained that out of the Rp 3 billion collected by
her ministry for the program, Rp 40 million had been channeled to
each of the five mayoralties.

But the head of the food stall owners cooperative, Sastoro,
said Thursday he received many complaints from his members in
Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta, and Cengkareng, West Jakarta, that
they had not been reimbursed.

"In the past they are not brave enough to speak about their
complaints. But now they have the courage to do so as the father
of Mbak Tutut, has stepped down." He did not say how many stall
owners had complained.

Sastoro said it should be first checked who were persons
behind the delay in the payment... they could be from the
ministry or the city office.

Djailani said the administration should not waste time in
solving the matter as people were badly in need of the money.

"Don't burden the poor," he said.

Head of the city chapter of the United Development Party
Rusjdi Hamka also urged the administration yesterday to meet its
obligation to the stall owners as soon as possible.

"The food sellers can file suit against the negligent
officials," he said. (ind)