Supporting Poverty Alleviation Program in South Sumatra, Semen Baturaja Distributes Basic Food Assistance

BATURAJA – PT Semen Baturaja Tbk (SMBR) as a subsidiary of PT Semen Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (SIG) in collaboration with the South Sumatra Provincial Government (Pemprov Sumsel) through the South Sumatra Provincial Social Service distributed 500 basic food packages to support the extreme poverty alleviation program in South Sumatra Province.

The regencies targeted for the distribution of this program include OKU 345 packages, East OKU 45 packages and South OKU 110 packages, each package consisting of 10 kg of rice and 1 box of instant noodles.

The assistance was symbolically handed over by Senior Manager of Secretarial & Stakeholder Management SMBR Pramaja Gusnady to Acting (Pj) Regent of OKU M. Iqbal Alisyahbana who was accompanied by the Head of the OKU Regency Social Service Syaiful Kamal and Assistant III of the Regional Secretariat (Sekda) Romson Fitri on Thursday (26/9) which took place at the Official Residence of the Regent of Ogan Komering Ulu (OKU), Baturaja, South Sumatra. The assistance that has been handed over will then be directly distributed to the beneficiaries represented by the Sub-district Heads in each local area through the Social Service.

Pramaja Gusnandy said that the distribution of this assistance is part of the social and environmental responsibility (TJSL) program aimed at people in need. “We are synergizing with the OKU Regency OPD and related stakeholders, so that the aid distribution process is right on target and appropriate,” he explained.

According to the direction of the Governor of South Sumatra Elen Setiadi, poverty in South Sumatra continues to decline even though the figure is still above the national average. According to him, South Sumatra has actually succeeded in significantly reducing the extreme poverty rate below the national level.

“In the long term, the South Sumatra Provincial Government has also prepared steps to reduce poverty rates in South Sumatra. The decrease in extreme poverty rates is due to the success of government programs such as providing social assistance, to controlling inflation,” he explained.

Meanwhile, Acting Regent of OKU M. Iqbal Alisyahbana expressed his gratitude to Semen Baturaja for taking part in this program. “Thank you for your assistance and support, hopefully this assistance can provide benefits for residents and the surrounding environment,” Iqbal hoped. (*)