Ternate, North Maluku (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Social Affairs guarantees unhindered distribution of Direct Cash Assistance (BLT) for Fuel Oil (BBM) for recipients in the frontier, outermost, and underdeveloped (3T) areas, especially in the North Maluku region.
"The realization of BLT BBM distribution in 3T areas in North Maluku has reached 77.4 percent, while in Sofifi, Tidore Islands City, it has reached 88.8 percent," Secretary General of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Harry Hikmat, stated here Thursday.
Hikmat remarked that distribution of the first phase of BLT BBM for all beneficiaries would reach 100 percent by the end of September.
"Based on the dashboard information provided by Pos Indonesia, the realization of BLT BBM has reached 96.88 percent nationally. From a total of 20.65 million beneficiaries, it has reached 20,005,508 of them," Hikmat stated.
If measured from the level of realization nationally, the BLT BBM distribution was quite high. The distribution was targeted to be completed at the end of September followed by the second phase in December, he remarked.
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He later said that his side had discussed with Pos Indonesia, as the social aid distributor, and the local government regarding obstacles faced by officers while distributing the assistance in 3T areas.
"We want the distribution of social assistance in the 3T areas to run optimally to complete the disbursal (process)," he added.
In addition, the Deputy Operational Vice President for the Regional VI of the Makassar Post Office, Syahrul Zainuddin, stated that the most important aspect in distributing social assistance to 3T areas was the proper scheduling.
"For distribution to the 3T areas, it must be properly scheduled to ensure that all recipients, when we arrive, are all present, because it is impossible to visit many times," Zainuddin remarked.
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Apart from proper scheduling, appointing officers, with a comprehensive understanding of the areas, is also important, despite nature and distance still being the main challenges.
"More obstacles come from natural factors and extraordinary distances. The weather and the distance affect our transportation to the location. Some have to use three types of transportation modes in one go, first, air transportation to the nearest location, then land transportation, and continue to the destination location using ship transportation, be it at sea or river," he pointed out.
However, Zainuddin said his side remains committed to distributing the aid by gathering recipients at the same place.
Moreover, he lauded the distribution achievement through the collaboration between the Ministry of Social Affairs along with Pos Indonesia, the regional government, and law enforcement officials.
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