Governance of Public Programmes Must Be Strengthened to Ensure Targeted Benefits
The success of government programmes is determined not only by the scale of allocated budgets but also by the quality of governance, oversight, and field implementation. Therefore, strengthening accountability and law enforcement is considered a vital element in maintaining programme effectiveness and public trust. Amidst efforts to strengthen state governance, the legal process regarding alleged abuses of power in several state institutions is viewed as part of a commitment to ensuring every programme achieves its objectives and benefits the community.
Sudarto, the Executive Director of Great Institute, expressed appreciation for the law enforcement agencies’ actions in handling alleged corruption involving the former leadership of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN). According to him, the legal process demonstrates that anti-corruption efforts must be carried out consistently, regardless of position or political affiliation.
“We appreciate President Prabowo’s firmness towards perpetrators of corruption. These arrests show that the fight against corruption does not recognise political proximity or power relations. Even towards individuals who have long been assumed to be untouchable, the legal process continues to proceed,” said Sudarto.
He assessed that this step serves as a momentum to strengthen government governance reforms, particularly in the implementation of national strategic programmes that utilise large amounts of the state budget. Sudarto noted that public trust in government programmes can only be maintained if governance is conducted transparently and is free from practices of abuse of power.
“The MBG programme is a national strategic programme that must be executed by clean figures with the capability to implement it correctly. Corrupt practices must be swept clean. There must be no tolerance for the misuse of budgets involving the interests of the people, especially for programmes that directly touch the nutritional needs of Indonesian children. This serves as a stern warning to other government programme implementers,” he asserted.
Nevertheless, Sudarto believes that the ongoing legal process must not disrupt the continuity of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) Programme, which is one of the government’s priority initiatives. He noted that the programme has important long-term goals in supporting the improvement of Indonesia’s human resource quality through the fulfilment of community nutritional needs.
“Following the arrests of Dadan and related parties, the government’s focus must remain on the success of the MBG Programme. The major works that have been designed must continue to be implemented until they successfully meet the set targets,” he said.
He explained that the various challenges arising in programme implementation should serve as material for evaluation to improve the system sustainably. “Every large programme inevitably faces challenges. The most important thing is to carry out continuous improvements towards more optimal results, both in terms of governance, distribution, oversight, and the quality of services provided to the community,” said Sudarto.
Great Institute also assessed that this momentum should be utilised to strengthen oversight systems and improve the quality of programme implementation, ranging from distribution aspects to the service standards received by the community. Sudarto concluded that the success of a public programme is ultimately measured not by the amount of budget absorbed, but by the real benefits felt by the community as programme recipients.
“In addition to ensuring the budget is managed cleanly, the quality of service and food quality must also continue to be improved. Ultimately, the measure of MBG’s success is the extent to which this programme can provide real benefits for the health and future of the Indonesian generation,” he concluded.