Leadership Changes at National Nutrition Agency Must Be Followed by Improved Transparency in Free Nutritious Meal Programme
The leadership change at the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) is considered a momentum to strengthen the governance of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) Programme, ensuring it becomes more transparent, accountable, and effective in its field implementation.
Abdul Rivai Ras, Chairman of the Indonesian Association of Entrepreneurs and Managers of Free Nutritious Meal Kitchens (APPMBGI), expressed appreciation for the government’s steps to conduct evaluations and leadership refreshment within the BGN, involving the replacement of the agency head and several other officials.
“The most important thing is not who leads, but how the MBG programme continues to provide optimal benefits to the community,” said Abdul Rivai Ras in a statement on Tuesday (3/6). He noted that such moves demonstrate the government’s seriousness in ensuring this national strategic programme operates optimally and undergoes continuous improvement.
“The change in BGN leadership shows that the government is serious about ensuring the Free Nutritious Meal Programme runs increasingly well. Evaluation and organisational refreshment are normal parts of result-oriented government governance,” he explained.
As an organisation representing business actors and managers of MBG kitchens across various regions, APPMBGI views this leadership change as a positive signal that the government is actively monitoring the implementation of a programme involving the nutritional needs of millions of Indonesian children.
“The Presidential decision shows that the implementation of the national strategic programme continues to be monitored and evaluated. When areas needing reinforcement are found, the government does not hesitate to take corrective measures. This is an important message that good governance must be the primary foundation for the success of the Free Nutritious Meal Programme,” he said.
Furthermore, Abdul Rivai assured that the leadership transition would not disrupt the programme’s operations, which already possesses an implementation network across various regions of Indonesia. He stated that the distribution infrastructure and service systems already in place can continue to function normally during the transition period.
He also assessed that the momentum of the leadership change should be utilised to improve service quality while strengthening programme transparency and oversight.
“The change in leadership can be a momentum to increase service quality, strengthen supervision, ensure nutritional standards are met, and increase consistency in field implementation. Additionally, we hope that moving forward, programme governance becomes increasingly transparent, open to input, and capable of building stronger public trust,” he added.
As a government partner in the implementation of the MBG, APPM_BGI reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the programme’s success through improved kitchen management, enhanced human resource capacity, and compliance with national food safety and nutritional standards.
“The main priority remains ensuring that Indonesian children have access to nutritious, safe, and timely food. The change in leadership should be viewed as part of an effort to strengthen the programme, not as an obstacle to its implementation,” he concluded.
APPMBGI also urged all stakeholders to remain focused on the programme’s primary goal: improving the nutritional quality of the younger Indonesian generation as a foundation for ‘Indonesia Emas 2045’ (Golden Indonesia 2045).