Improved MBG Governance Will Restore Public Trust, Says Vice President's Staff

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Special Staff to the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia, Nico Harjanto, supports the move by the newly appointed Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Sudaryono, to improve the governance of the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme to boost public trust in the national economy. Nico Harjanto stated that improvements to the governance and budget efficiency of the MBG programme are believed to strengthen fiscal discipline while enhancing public confidence in the national economy. “We are confident that improving the governance and budget efficiency of the MBG programme will restore public trust in the national economy, particularly regarding more targeted fiscal discipline. This will certainly be one of the factors that can encourage the strengthening trend of the Composite Stock Price Index (IHSG) and the rupiah exchange rate,” Nico said in a statement received in Jakarta on Thursday. He expressed full support for the newly appointed Head of BGN, Sudaryono, to carry out comprehensive governance improvements for the MBG programme. He added that the implementation of the MBG programme should also be focused on beneficiaries in underdeveloped, frontier, and outermost (3T) regions by involving local micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), school canteens, and parents. This step is expected to have a more measurable social impact while simultaneously driving the regional economy. “We hope that MBG can become a tangible example of good governance implementation that supports economic growth and serves as an engine for regional economic development,” Nico stated. Separately, Sudaryono said that President Prabowo Subianto has instructed the BGN to sharpen the targeting of beneficiaries so that the goal of improving children’s nutritional quality is achieved while also having an impact on local economic growth. Sudaryono was inaugurated by President Prabowo Subianto as Head of the BGN on Wednesday (22/7), replacing Nanik S. Deyang, who resigned for health reasons.