KPK Gives Relevant Parties 30 Days to Improve Rice Program

Jakarta (Antara) - The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) had given relevant parties 30 days to improve the -fsubsidized rice for-the-poor program (Raskin), which the anti-graft agency views as prone to corruption. "The KPK asked us to improve the implementation of the Raskin program beginning April 4, 2014," director general for Poverty Eradication and Social Empowerment of the Ministry of Social Affairs Hartono Laras said here on Tuesday. The Ministry of Social Affairs as the Budget User Institution (KPA) for the Raskin program had the authority to distribute the budget to state-owned logistics board Bulog. "We were asked to provide a work mechanism for fund distribution and KPA budgeting," the director general said. Also, he said the other aspect that needed to be improved in the Raskin program was the data on the target families as the distribution so far was considered to be off target. The number of target families for the Raskin program in 2014 was reported to be 15.5 million families. They will each receive 15 kilograms of rice per month with a total budget of Rp18 trillion. Each target family will purchase the Raskin rice at Rp1.600 per kilogram, but in the field some target families were not able to buy 15 kilograms. Previously, the KPK in a study found that the Raskin program, which had been running for 15 years, was not effective because it was still not meeting its targets with inappropriate quantity, quality, price and administration. Hartono said the Ministry of Social Affairs served as KPA only from 2013, and it had tried to improve the program by forming a verification team involving the relevant ministries and institutions. The ministry of social affairs also asked its inspectorate general to help guard the program together with the State Audit Board (BPK), the Government's Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP) and the KPK. "We also set up a rice payment acceleration and control team," he added. (*)