Ombudsman emphasises importance of preventing maladministration in food sector

Jakarta (ANTARA) - A member of the Indonesian Ombudsman (ORI), Fikri Yasin, has emphasised the importance of efforts to prevent maladministration in the delivery of public services within the food sector.

“Preventing at the outset, guarding before maladministration occurs, starting from the prevention of maladministrative deviations,” said Fikri in a statement confirmed in Jakarta on Friday.

According to him, this includes the implementation of the duties and functions of the State Logistics Agency (Perum Bulog).

He added that Perum Bulog’s efforts to prevent maladministration include maintaining the availability, affordability, and stability of food in Indonesia.

During a coordination meeting with the board of directors of Perum Bulog in Jakarta on Friday (28/8), he stated that food availability across all corners of Indonesia is not merely about having sufficient reserves, but also about ensuring that distribution runs effectively.

Meanwhile, the Head of the III Senior Assistantship for Food at the Indonesian Ombudsman, Yustus Maturbongs, stated the need for collaboration between the Indonesian Ombudsman and Bulog in identifying food distribution issues.

“Therefore, the current supervision by the Indonesian Ombudsman is supervision that supports the strengthening of government programmes, one of which is President Prabowo Subianto’s ‘Asta Cita’ in the food sector,” said Yustus.

On the same occasion, the Deputy President Director of Perum Bulog, Marga Taufik, explained that the company currently possesses a warehouse capacity of approximately 3 million tonnes.

As for the food reserves managed by Bulog, the target is to support around 8 per cent of national consumption this year; however, Bulog faces constraints regarding storage warehouses.

“There is a limitation in warehouse infrastructure, as many of Bulog’s own warehouses are still conventional. Therefore, when items are stored there, there is a limit to the storage duration,” revealed Marga.

The Operational Director of Perum Bulog, Andi Afdal, welcomed the planned cooperation between the two institutions as an effort towards preventive measures against maladministration to ensure that public services in the food sector operate optimally.