Government Launches Cash Aid Program for Cooking Oil
The cash aid, totaling Rp300,000 per family, will be provided for the three months of April, May and June, but will be paid in advance in April.
An officer shows packaged cooking oil confiscated from the warehouse of the hoarders during a press conference in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, Tuesday (8/3/2022).
The launch of the cash transfer program (BLT) for cooking oil is expected to help reduce the financial burden of the poor in coping with rising food and energy prices. Data accuracy and the distribution system require special attention.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The government will launch a cash transfer (BTP) program for the poor to help them cope with the rising price of cooking oil. Under the new cash aid program, each family will receive Rp 100,000 (US$7) a month for three months
The cash transfer for cooking oil program will be provided for 20.5 million families included Non-Cash Food Assistance (BPNT) and Family Hope Program (PKH) recipients. In addition, money will also be given to 2.5 million street vendors selling fried food.
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The cash aid, totaling Rp300,000 per family, will be provided for the three months of April, May and June, but will be paid in advance in April.
“We know that the price of cooking oil is quite high as an impact of the increase in palm oil prices on the international market. To ease the burden of the people, the government will provide BTL cash aid for cooking oil,” President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said in a press briefing at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Friday (1/4/2022).
The President asked the Finance Ministry, the Social Affairs Ministry, as well as the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police to work together to ensure that the distribution of the BLT for cooking oil runs smoothly.
The handling of the problems related to the rising price of packaged and bulk cooking oil should remain the government’s priority.
A number of people have expressed their support for the provision of the cooking oil BLT, saying that cash aid would be helpful to ease the burden on the people in the midst of the rising price of various food and energy commodities. However, the accuracy of the data of the targeted recipients must receive special attention. The handling of the problems related to the rising price of packaged and bulk cooking oil should remain the government’s priority.
When asked about the cooking oil cash transfer program, director of the Center of Economic and Law Studies (Celios ) Bhima Yudhistira said the provision of the cash aid would not be able to totally resolve the cooking oil problem. "BLT for cooking oil is positive, but the government still needs to solve the core problem of the distribution of the packaged and bulk cooking oil," he said.
Bhima said the provision of the cash aid for cooking oil required accurate data on the recipients. The accuracy of the PKH data was relatively unproblematic as it has been improving. However, for fried food traders, the data collection would be a crucial issue as there could be duplications in data on recipients, he said.
Evidence in the form of fake cooking oil was presented at a press conference at the Special Criminal Directorate of the Central Java Police, Tuesday (22/2/2022).
“For example, a fried food vendor could get double the aid. At the same time, those who use cooking oil are not only fried food vendors. The small-scale food and beverage industry must also be considered by the government," he said.
Bhima said this problem would arise because most street vendors were not registered with the government and did not have a business permit, he said.
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Executive director of the Center of Reform on Economics (CORE) Indonesia, Mohammad Faisal, said the provision of BLT for cooking oil was a better alternative compared with the subsidy policy, as the subsidized cooking oil did not reach the targeted recipients.
"As compensation, the government provides BLT cash aid. In terms of numbers, I think it's adequate," he said.
Faisal further said the problem with the provision of the BLT for cooking oil would be the same as the previous BLT programs. The weakness of the BLT programs lay in data collection and distribution, he added.
The distribution of BLT is often hampered because organizers do not take into account distribution costs. As a result, the BLT often does not reach the targeted recipients because the data is not accurate.
The government still needs to solve the supply shortage and the difficulties experienced by the people in getting subsidized cooking oil.
However, the provision of the BLT for cooking oil does not mean that the problems in the cooking oil distribution have all been settled. The government still needs to solve the supply shortage and the difficulties experienced by the people in getting subsidized cooking oil.
Distributors reminded
The Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) office for Yogyakarta and Central Java provinces, during an awareness campaign at the Trade Office of Surakarta City, Central Java, on Friday, appealed to distributors and retailers not to practice conditional purchases for the people in the city.
This practice, where shoppers are required to buy additional items in order to buy cooking oil, is detrimental to the community as they could be forced to buy items they do not need. The KPPU will impose sanctions on distributors and retailers who carry out such a practice.
The driver of a tanker truck filled with cooking oil checks his vehicle which is parked in front of an oil storage warehouse in Dampyak Village, Kramat District, Tegal Regency, Central Java, Wednesday (1/12/2021).
The agency made the appeal following the findings of the conditional purchase of cooking oil in Surakarta last week. Buyers of 17 kilograms of bulk cooking oil were required to buy 50 kilograms of flour and sugar.
Kamal Barok, the head of the Law Enforcement Division of the KPPU office for Yogyakarta and Central Java said there were 11 distributors in Yogyakarta who carried out similar practices. From the investigation, it was found that many marketing employees were not aware that conditional purchases were prohibited. (CAS/NCA/EGI/ERK)
(This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi).
