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Three years on, preemployment card touted as model for govt e-services
The state preemployment card program has contributed close to Rp 240 billion (US$15.6 million) in non-tax revenue in the three years since it was established, the program’s supervisors have said.
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A smartphone screen shows information about the second registration round for the preemployment card program in Jakarta on April 20, 2020. (Antara/Aditya Pradana Putra)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s flagship preemployment card scheme has contributed close to Rp 240 billion (US$15.6 million) in non-tax revenue in the three years since it was established, the program’s supervisors have said, with the head of the initiative claiming it is worth sharing with other countries as a model of social assistance.
Denni Purbasari, the executive director of the program’s management office (PMO), touted the card’s efficiency and effectiveness in providing unemployed Indonesians the skills and cash assistance to sustain themselves during the economically devastating COVID-19 pandemic.
“The preemployment program is proven to have raised food security, held up purchasing power, expanded financial inclusion and grown employment and entrepreneurship,” Denni said at a discussion in Jakarta on Wednesday.
“[Its] implementation has also been efficient, considering the overhead for the PMO took up just 0.59 percent of the total budget while still managing to post non-tax revenues amounting to Rp 237.8 billion,” she added.
Part social assistance, part upskilling program, the preemployment card initiative offers eligible recipients benefits totalling Rp 3.55 million per person over four months and covers the costs of retraining with partner vendors. A recipient is only able to claim the cash benefits after completing at least one training course.
So far, 16.4 million people have participated in the program nationwide.
“When that figure of Rp 3.5 million is multiplied by 16.4 million, we have around Rp 58 trillion [in total costs]. So the funds actually reach [eligible recipients] without any corruption,” Denni said.
