AsiaNet 84074

JAKARTA, Indonesia, May 19, 2020/Antara=KYODO JBN/--

Social Affairs Minister of Republic of Indonesia Juliari P. Batubara has urged

PT Pos Indonesia CEO Gilarsi Wahyu Setijono to open more counters at post

offices and prolong the distribution period of Cash Social Assistance (CSA)

following President Joko Widodo's instruction to speed up the delivery.

"In accordance with President Joko Widodo's instruction, I have had taken some

measures with PT Pos and relevant working units in the Ministry of Social

Affairs," Juliari said on Sunday (17/05).

PT Pos has been reaching out through communities, but the minister deemed that

they still need more counters.

Juliari directed PT Pos to improve their service to the people by adding more

distribution points, for instance, in village meeting hall, schools, Hamlet, or

any locations accessible by the Beneficiary Families (BMs).

"I want to open more (distribution) points as soon as possible. I also want to

make sure that the distribution of CSA is done faster with the addition. This

is aimed to widen the service scope and coverage area,"Juliari went on.

The minister also demanded Pos Indonesia to prolong the CSA distribution period

so that they could serve more BMs in one day. "It may start from 7 a.m. until

end or night every day. Therefore, more BMs can be served," he added.

In addition, Juliari instructed the Directorate General of Poverty Handling to

keep monitoring and reporting every CSA distribution progress.

"Through these measures, hopefully the CSA distribution can go fast and smooth,

and still obeys health protocols during the distribution. With these, by Eid Al

Fitr, the first batch of CSA distribution would have been completed," said the

minister.

SOURCE: Public Relation Bureau; Ministry of Social Affairs;

        Republic of Indonesia