Zulhas Reveals Free Nutritious Meal Programme Wastes Rp1 Trillion Monthly, How Can This Be?

The government is set to conduct a major evaluation of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme, specifically regarding the number of Nutrition Service Units (SPPG) or MBG kitchens, which are deemed to have ballooned far beyond initial requirements. Coordinating Minister for Food, Zulkifli Hasan, revealed indications of a practice involving the buying and selling of SPPG points, which caused the number of MBG kitchens to soar significantly from the original plan. According to Zulhas, the MBG programme was initially designed with a target of around 21,000 SPPG points. However, based on the latest data, the number of recorded points has reached 27,877 units. “There has been buying and selling of (SPPG) points, whereas the initial plan was for 21,000 points, but now there are 27,877 points. So, there is a swelling of 6,877 points,” Zulhas said during a press conference at his office in Jakarta on Thursday. The surge in the number of kitchens is assessed to have the potential to burden state finances. This is because each MBG kitchen receives operational support amounting to Rp6 million per day. With an additional 6,877 points beyond the initial plan, the government estimates there is an extra expenditure reaching more than Rp1 trillion each month. “If there are 6,877 additional points, at Rp6 million a day, in one month there is an extra expenditure of Rp1 trillion, which is wasteful. That means in one year, how much is it? Rp12 trillion. This needs structuring so it can be improved and resolved,” he stated. Similar issues were also found in the implementation of the programme in disadvantaged, frontier, and outermost (3T) regions. Zulhas mentioned the number of SPPG points in these areas soared far above the initial planning. Initially, the government only projected around 2,000 SPPG points in 3T regions. However, in its development, that number increased to 8,617 points, with the majority of them having obtained a decree from the National Nutrition Agency (BGN). “In the 3T data, there were 2,000 points, but then it ballooned to 8,617 points, and 6,138 points of those already have a decree from the BGN,” he revealed. Consequently, the government, together with BGN and several related ministries/agencies, will reorganise the MBG programme. This step is taken to ensure the implementation of President Prabowo Subianto’s priority programme runs more effectively and efficiently. Zulhas is targeting the process of reordering all data and implementation of the MBG programme to be completed within approximately one month. “Now this will also be a problem, this will be resolved, so it will probably take about one month to reorganise this,” he concluded.