President Joko Widodo visited a Bulog warehouse in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, on Wednesday to survey national rice reserves. The condition of the rice stocks sent “a positive signal” in the midst of the pandemic
By
Cyprianus Anto Saptowalyono
·3 minutes read
BIRO PERS SEKRETARIAT PRESIDEN
President Joko Widodo shows a bag of rice aided by restrictions on community activities while visiting the Bulog warehouse in North Jakarta, Wednesday (21/7/2021).
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — National rice stocks are in safe condition and sufficient to meet demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. The government expects this to be a positive signal to the public amid rising concerns after the extension of emergency public activity restrictions (PPKM Darurat).
As seen on the Presidential Secretariat\'s Youtube channel on Wednesday, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo inspected a State Logistics Agency (Bulog) warehouse in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta. Accompanied by Bulog\'s president director Budi Waseso, the President said the rice stock of about 1,373,000 tons kept at Bulog warehouses was sufficient to meet demand.
“The first thing I want to make sure of is that the national stock of rice is sufficient. Earlier, the head of Bulog said that the existing stocks were about 1,373,000 tons. This means that our stock is sufficient,” said the President.
Second, the President added, his visit was intended to check the readiness for rice to be distributed to the community. “I am happy because it turns out that the distribution of the rice assistance began last Friday. So the rice distribution is not [in the future], but has been running since Friday in Jakarta and all provinces in our country," said the President.
The aid will continue during the pandemic. "The rice assistance amounts to 10 kilograms. It is expected that the rice assistance can help the people during the implementation of PPKM [Darurat]," he said.
As stated by President Jokowi on Tuesday night, the implementation of PPKM Darurat, which began on July 3, was unavoidable. The policy had to be taken by the government even though it has had a severe impact. The government continues to work hard so that the mobility restrictions can be gradually relaxed beginning July 26.
KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO
Rice for the community at the Logistics Command Post imposes restrictions on community activities (at the Women\'s Building, Bogor City, West Java, Wednesday (21/7/2021). This post is a distribution center for basic food assistance for residents affected by Emergency PPKM throughout the city of Bogor.
Jokowi also said the government would continue to distribute aid to people affected by pandemic. In addition to staple foods, the government is also providing free medicine for people with mild COVID-19 symptoms and has allocated additional social protection funds of Rp 55.21 trillion to ease the burden on the affected residents. Other forms of social assistance are being provided to different community groups. They include direct cash assistance, village funds, the Family Hope Program, internet data packages and electricity subsidies.
“The government also provides incentives for informal micro businesses of Rp 1.2 million for about 1 one million micro businesses. I have ordered the relevant ministers to immediately distribute social assistance to eligible citizens," he said.
Earlier
Rusli Abdullah, a researcher from the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef), said assistance should have ideally been given from the start of the social restrictions. Such assistance would have been able to optimize the implementation of the emergency measures, especially as the mobility of the residents was limited.
"President Jokowi\'s visit to the Bulog warehouse, in my opinion, also brings a positive signal that Bulog\'s rice is sufficient, ensuring that rice in the warehouse is available and at least can help people affected by PPKM," he said.
In addition, added Rusli, the President\'s visit would provide a sense of security for business players in the midst of the lack of compensation for employees who had been laid off during the pandemic.
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