Ministry of Social Affairs hands over Rp241 billion in aid to Pidie Jaya disaster victims
Banda Aceh, Aceh Province — The Ministry of Social Affairs (Kemensos) has handed over the Indonesian President’s aid for the victims of the flood disaster in Pidie Jaya Regency, Aceh, amounting to Rp241 billion, comprising five categories of assistance.
‘This is social assistance. There is also infrastructure assistance and other aid; all are being processed, ongoing, and some have already been disbursed,’ said Social Minister Saifullah Yusuf, also known as Gus Ipul, in Pidie Jaya on Friday.
The handover took place at the MTQ Building in the Pidie Jaya Regency Government Complex, and was attended by the head of the After-Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction (PRR) Task Force for Sumatra, Tito Karnavian; Aceh Deputy Governor Fadhlullah; and other local government officials of Pidie Jaya.
The aid includes socio-economic stimulus for 18,839 households amounting to Rp94.1 billion; livelihood guarantees for 66,629 people amounting to Rp89.9 billion. It also covers provision of Huntara temporary housing units for 18,839 households amounting to Rp56 billion; inheritance allowances to 56 beneficiaries amounting to Rp840 million; and compensation for injuries to 23 people amounting to Rp115 million.
In addition to the cash assistance, the event also saw the handover of 250 packs of prayer equipment, three backhoe loaders, four excavators, and 20 dump trucks donated by President Prabowo Subianto to the disaster-affected communities in Pidie Jaya.
Gus Ipul emphasised that all of this is the result of joint work involving village heads, regents, governors, the Indonesian National Police (TNI/Polri), the Attorney General’s Office, and community leaders who have helped coordinate, strengthen, and accelerate the process so that the central government could realise it.
‘All the support has been extraordinary. We hope this becomes an integral part of the recovery process so that Aceh can return to normal and be better than before,’ he said.
Meanwhile, Tito Karnavian, who also serves as Home Affairs Minister and head of the PRR, stated that the government would continue to deliver aid to disaster-affected victims in line with directives from President Prabowo Subianto to accelerate the process.
‘Alhamdulillah, this is the first wave before Eid (aid for individuals). Hopefully it can be utilised well by the families affected,’ he said.
According to Tito Karnavian, the aid from Kemensos today is targeted at individuals, after two earlier waves had already been provided for the stimulation of repairs to houses damaged from light to moderate levels by BNPB.
‘BNPB has already disbursed two waves in parallel. This is now the first wave for individual assistance. All of this stems from meetings and directives from the President to act quickly,’ he concluded.