Direct Assistance to Reduce Poverty Rate

Jakarta (Antara) - The handing over of temporary direct assistance (BLSM) to poor people in compensation of the government's planned subsidized fuel oil price hike will reduce poverty rate, a minister said. "(Fuel oil price hike) will not increase new numbers of poor people," Finance Minister Chatib Basri told a press conference on the 2013 Revised State Budget here on Tuesday. He said that if the government did not provide temporary direct assistance for the poor, subsidized fuel oil price hike would increase the number of poor people from 10.5 percent to 12.1 percent or about four million new poor people would be created. However, the emergence of new poor people would not happen because the government would provide BLSM for 25 percent low-income people, namely about 15.5 million target families (RTS). "With an assumption that each family consists of four members, about 62 million people will get the temporary direct assistance. So, the number of those who will get compensation is bigger than those who will become new poor people," the minister said. The BLSM assistance amounting to Rp9.3 trillion will be provided for 15.5 target families for four months. Each family will get Rp150,000 each month. The government has also set aside Rp360 billion for operational cost to monitor and supervise the implementation of the BLSM assistance. The government is also preparing Acceleration and Expansion of Social Protection Program (P4S) which includes Assistance Program for Students from Poor Families (BSM), Hope Family Program (PKH) and additional rice for the poor program (Raskin). (*)