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

We are confident that improvements to the governance and budget efficiency of the MBG programme will be able to restore public confidence in the national economy, particularly with regard to better-targeted fiscal discipline. This will certainly become one of the things that can strengthen the trend of the IHSG and the rupiah exchange rate.

Jakarta (ANTARA) — Nico Harjanto, Special Staff to the Vice President of Indonesia, has voiced support for the move by the Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Sudaryono, to improve the governance of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme in order to bolster public confidence in the national economy.

Nico Harjanto said improvements to the programme’s governance and budget efficiency are believed to be able to strengthen fiscal discipline whilst also raising public trust in the national economy.

“We are confident that improvements to MBG governance and budget efficiency will be able to restore public confidence in the national economy, particularly with regard to more precisely targeted fiscal discipline. This will certainly become one of the things that can drive the strengthening trend of the IHSG and the rupiah exchange rate,” Nico said in a statement received in Jakarta on Thursday.

He expressed full support for the newly inaugurated BGN head, Sudaryono, in carrying out a comprehensive overhaul of the MBG programme’s governance.

He added that the programme’s implementation should also be focused on beneficiaries in disadvantaged, frontier and outermost (3T) regions by involving local micro, small and medium enterprises (UMKM), school canteens and parents of pupils.

It is hoped that such measures will deliver a more measurable social impact whilst also stimulating regional economies.

“We hope that MBG can become a tangible example of good governance that supports economic growth, and can serve as an engine driving regional economies,” said Nico.

In addition, Sudaryono said President Prabowo Subianto had instructed the BGN to sharpen the targeting of programme beneficiaries so that the goal of improving children’s nutritional quality is achieved whilst also delivering an impact on local economic growth.

Sudaryono was inaugurated by President Prabowo Subianto as Head of the BGN on Wednesday (22 July), replacing Nanik S. Deyang, who resigned on health grounds.