Govt accused of stealing cheap rice for the poor

Govt accused of stealing cheap rice for the poor

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

It is another story about the greed of government officials. Now,
they are accused of stealing rice set aside to be distributed to
the poor in a program launched early last year to help ease the
burden of those most affected by the prolonged economic crisis.

Samarin, 25, a mother of two, came to City Council on Thursday
to meet members of Commission A for administrative affairs to
report that there had been a reduction in the distribution of
subsidized rice for the poor in the Cipinang Besar Selatan
subdistrict in East Jakarta.

She told the councillors that since November last year, her
family has received the subsidized rice as her husband had lost
his job and was only able to find work doing odd jobs for
neighbors.

But she said the rice she received was far below the amount
announced by the government that each family would receive per
month, that is 20 kilograms of rice at the price of Rp 1,000 per
kilogram.

"Starting four months ago, I have received only 10 liters (8
kgs) per month at the price of Rp 1,300. I do not know why, as
the officials (who distribute the rice) refused to explain," said
Samarin.

Her statement was confirmed by Rina, the wife of the head of
the neighborhood unit where Samarin and her family lives.

Samarin blamed the subdistrict officials who are responsible
for distributing the rice for the irregularities. But she refused
to say that the subdistrict head was behind the case.

The rice for the poor program managed by the National
Logistics Agency (Bulog) was launched in January 2002. The agency
distributed a total of 2.35 million tons of low-priced rice to
9.79 million poor families last year.

The rice was sold at a price of Rp 1,000 per kilogram,
compared to the market price of Rp 3,000. Each family received a
total of 20 kilograms per month throughout the year.

This year, Bulog will receive Rp 500 billion (US$55.5 million)
in compensation funds for the program, the same as last year. The
agency is still entitled to Rp 4.8 trillion of the social safety
net fund, also made available to provide cheap rice for the poor.

With the funds, Bulog plans to distribute a total 2.35 million
tons of rice to about 9.2 million poor families this year.

Samarin added that there was no explanation from the
subdistrict officials why the allotment of the rice for the poor
was cut.

Chairman of the Jakarta Residents Forum (Fakta) Azas Tigor
Nainggolan, who accompanied Samarin and dozens of other poor
people who visited the Council, slammed such practices, saying
that it was another illustration of the endemic corruption in the
city.

He said that what happened in Cipinang Besar Selatan was only
one example of many similar cases occurring in other areas in the
city.

According to Tigor, such a practice might occur because of
weak supervision of the program by the city administration
officials.

"Cipinang Besar Selatan is not the first case in East Jakarta.
When a similar case happened last year, the mayor promised to
take control of the program. But why has it happened again?"
Tigor said.