MBG halted during holidays, Rp100.1 trillion allocated for disaster recovery
The distribution of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme will be temporarily halted during the school holiday period to support the arrangement and standardisation of governance, according to Deputy Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) and BGN Spokesperson Agustina Arumsari. “For this occasion, the policy we have taken is to completely stop distributing MBG with the intention of standardising operational governance and resource efficiency,” Agustina Arumsari stated. She added that the Nutritional Fulfilment Service Units (SPPG) will not receive incentives during the school holidays in line with the temporary suspension of the programme. “All non-operational SPPGs will not receive incentives,” she said.
In a separate development, the Ministry of Social Affairs (Kemensos) and the Ministry of Housing and Settlement Areas (PKP) are accelerating the implementation of the Self-Help Housing Stimulant Assistance Programme (BSPS), or house renovation scheme, targeting parents of Sekolah Rakyat students. Expert Staff to the Minister of Social Affairs, Fajar WH, explained that this cross-ministerial integration aims to break the chain of extreme poverty through improving domestic infrastructure and meeting basic housing needs. “The Sekolah Rakyat approach does not only focus on children’s education, but also targets improving the welfare of the entire family. The children are schooled, the parents are empowered, and their uninhabitable houses are renovated,” he said.
Regarding disaster recovery, the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Cultural Affairs (Kemenko PMK) stressed the importance of overseeing the post-disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction budget for Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra to ensure programmes are promptly realised on the ground. Coordinating Minister Pratikno noted that while most of the budget for ministries and agencies has been disbursed, the focus must be on ensuring programmes are implemented as quickly as possible. President Prabowo Subianto has approved a post-disaster recovery budget of Rp100.1 trillion over three years, distributed through 23 primary ministries/agencies and 10 supporting ones. “The President has issued a directive approving a total three-year budget of Rp100.1 trillion, divided into three stages,” said Minister of Home Affairs and Head of the Task Force for the Acceleration of Post-Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction in Sumatra, Tito Karnavian.