Prabowo: Digitalisation of social assistance cuts verification time to hours

President Prabowo Subianto has explained that the digitalisation programme for social assistance (bansos), particularly the Family Hope Programme (PKH), has succeeded in cutting the verification time for beneficiaries from 75 to 200 days down to just hours or even minutes.

Not only that, digitalisation has also put a stop to the convoluted procedures previously experienced by beneficiaries when they wanted to receive assistance packages from the government.

“Previously, underprivileged families had to spend Rp150,000 on travel, documents, photocopying, and lost working time. Now, registration can be done at no cost, free of charge. Eligibility checks that previously could take 75–200 days can now be completed in minutes or hours,” said Prabowo during his state address at the Nusantara Building, Indonesian Parliament Complex, Jakarta, on Friday.

The President stressed that poor people should no longer have to incur costs just to prove that they are poor. Not only that, convoluted procedures, including photocopying a number of documents, according to the President, are simply a waste of time, because the state already holds data on its citizens.

Therefore, the President said that the digitalisation of social assistance, particularly for the Family Hope Programme, is targeted to reach 49 million registered families, or more than 50 percent of Indonesian families, upon national implementation. So far, PKH digitalisation has reached three million families in 153 regencies/cities across 38 provinces.

On the same occasion, the President also revealed his plan to expand the digitalisation beyond PKH to other social protection programmes as well.

“Digitalisation of social protection programmes must continue to be expanded, to all social assistance programmes, government assistance, and also subsidies,” said the President.

For the President, social assistance distributed by the government to beneficiary communities must be increasingly accessible to those entitled to receive it, and the entire process must be carried out with dignity.

The state address delivered by President Prabowo during the Annual Session of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR RI) and the Joint Session of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) and the Regional Representatives Council (DPD RI) was part of the commemoration of the 81st Anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Indonesia. The series of annual session events began with a speech by the Speaker of the MPR RI Ahmad Muzani, followed by the Speaker of the DPD RI Sultan Bachtiar Najamudin, and the State Address by President Prabowo Subianto.

The Annual Session of the MPR RI this year was attended by the 7th President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo, the 10th and 12th Vice President Jusuf Kalla, the 11th Vice President Boediono, and the 13th Vice President Ma’ruf Amin, as well as Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, ministers of the Red and White Cabinet, heads of institutions, Attorney General ST Burhanuddin, Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces General Agus Subiyanto, Chief of the Indonesian National Police General Listyo Sigit Prabowo, and a number of political party leaders.