Khofifah Denies Her Ministry is Social Charity

Jakarta (Antara) - Social Service Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa has denied an allegation that her ministry is social charity which only focuses on extending assistance. "One of the Social Service Ministry's tasks is to extend aid to those facing social problems. But we also carry out other activities including empowering people, controlling poverty, and providing social protection and security," she said during her visit to Antara news agency here on Wednesday. Soon after assuming the post of social service minister, Khofifah said she studied what are the activities of the ministry and one of the activities is controlling poverty which has so far received less attention. Therefore, she added that she will reconsider putting the issue of poverty control on the list of the ministry's priorities by coordinating other ministries. Citing an example, she said to procure houses for the poor the Ministry of Public Housing and Public Works can ask for accurate data about the poor from the Social Service Ministry. "The Social Service Ministry is not in the position to unite budget funds for poverty alleviation program. But the program must be carried out in a well-coordinated manner through one-stop service," she said. (*) Reported by Ikhwan Wahyudi