Implementation of Special Market Operation (OPK) Program:
Results of a SMERU Rapid Field Appraisal Mission in Five Provinces

Authors:
Sri Kusumastuti Rahayu, Akhmadi, Hastuti, Pamadi Wibowo, Sri Budiyati, Musriyadi Nabiu,
Sulton Mawardi, Syaikhu Usman, Laura E. Bailey, John Maxwell

Abstract

As an important part of monitoring the social safety net program being launched in response to Indonesia's ongoing crisis, SMERU fielded teams of Crisis Impact Field Researchers to observe and investigate the implementation and status of the National Logistics Agency (BULOG) program Operasi Pasar Khusus (OPK), from late October to mid of November 1998. These field teams visited 21 urban areas and 19 rural areas in five propinsi -- DKI Jakarta, Central Java, Central Sulawesi, Maluku and South Sumatra (a detailed list of the areas visited is provided in Annex I).

The SMERU team used this research to answer five key questions:

• Is the OPK program well-targeted?

• OPK is reaching needy people, but not all needy people are receiving OPK.

• Is the administration of OPK running smoothly?

• In some areas the delivery and payment mechanisms are operating well, but in many areas local government and their agents need to be given more adequate operational budgets and guidelines that allow for innovation.

• The requirement that recipients pay for all of their allotment at once is burdensome and keeps some of the most needy from gaining access to this program.

• Payments by local governments to Dolog for rice allocations are lagging significantly in many sites.

• Is OPK suffering from leakage, wastage, or similar problems?

• No information was uncovered concerning wastage, re-sale, corruption, or malfeasance.

• While no specific information was observed regarding leakage, the team identified 3 potential areas in which such problems might occur and would be worth further study. These are the issue of operational costs, delays in the transfer of payments for OPK rice between the collections points and the Dolog offices, and the weighing of the rice in the warehouses.

• Has public information and outreach about OPK been effective?

• Public information and outreach has been inconsistent, inaccurate, and ineffective.

• Is the OPK rice of acceptable quality?

• OPK rice is low to medium quality. In general program beneficeries found it acceptable, with the exception of one research site in Semarang where the rice was considered to be of very poor quality.

In conclusion, these results suggest that OPK's effectiveness as a safety net program would benefit from:

• a detailed and systematic outreach and public information campaign that emphasizes the goals and duration of the program as well as the eligibility and rules, allowing communities to monitor OPK at the kelurahan/desa level

• more consistent operational support from the center to the field, including clear guidelines that explicitly allow local officials to innovate within defined parameters

• more transparent and balanced budgetary support, including guidelines for how the Rp. 95/kilo "operational costs budget" is to be divided among the different links in the delivery chain

• consideration of an increase in the operational costs budget to include small amounts to facilitate community monitoring (e.g. to cover transport expenses for community members to the distribution or weighing sites).

• refinement of program guidelines, based on a comparative assessment of the relative costs and potential impact of several options, such as:

• revising the needs-based criteria to formally include new criteria such as : 1) families that consume protein only once a week, 2) families with children who are not in school, and 3) families led by unemployed adults, or PHK (pemutusan hubungan kerja).

• revising the eligibility criteria to include single parent or individual households and those without valid KTPs

• doubling the monthly allocation to 20 kilos

• moving to a locally-based targeting system

Contents

Background
Targeting
Allocation
Rice Availability
Distribution Methods
Methods of Payment
Information Dissemination
Quality of Rice
Operational Costs
Leakage and Re-Sale
Monitoring Systems
Conclusions
Annex I. List of Special Market Operation's Areas Visited by The SMERU Team
Annex II. Special Market Operation Target Numbers
Annex III. Special Market Operation Upper-Limit Target Numbers

• OPK dapat mencapai orang-orang yang memerlukan, tetapi tidak semua orang yang memerlukan mendapatkan OPK

• Apakah administrasi OPK berjalan dengan lancar?

• Di beberapa wilayah mekanisme pendistribusian dan pembayaran beras OPK berjalan dengan baik, tetapi umumnya pemerintah daerah (Pemda) dan aparat pelaksana perlu diberi biaya operasional dan petunjuk yang lebih memadai.

• Keharusan melakukan pembayaran langsung pada saat menerima beras (cash and carry) cukup membebani target.

• Mekanisme Pembayaran dari Pemda ke Dolog bervariasi dari satu daerah ke daerah lainnya.

• Apakah program OPK mengalami kebocoran, disalahgunakan, atau ada permasalahan sejenis?

• Tak ada informasi yang berkaitan dengan adanya beras OPK yang dijual kembali, dikorupsi, atau disalahgunakan.

• Meskipun demikian, Tim Smeru mengidentifikasi beberapa peluang kebocoran yang masih memerlukan studi lebih lanjut, yang berkenaan dengan biaya operasional, penundaan pembayaran beras OPK antara titik pengumpulan dan kantor Dolog, serta penimbangan beras di titik pembagian dan di gudang.

• Apakah penyebaran informasi tentang OPK efektif?

• Penyebaran informasi tentang OPK tidak akurat dan tidak efektif.

• Apakah kualitas beras OPK bisa diterima oleh target?

• Beras OPK merupakan beras kualitas rendah sampai medium. Secara umum, target dapat menerima beras tersebut, kecuali di satu tempat penelitian di Semarang dimana target merasa kurang puas karena kualitas beras yang diterima sangat rendah.

Kesimpulan:

Program OPK sebagai program jaring pengaman sosial akan bermanfaat, jika:

• Informasi tentang OPK disampaikan secara terperinci dan sistematis dengan menekankan pada tujuan dan jangka waktu program serta memungkinkan masyarakat untuk melakukan monitoring terhadap pelaksanaan OPK di tingkat kelurahan/desa;

• Terdapat dukungan operasional yang konsisten dari pusat untuk pelaksanaan di lapangan, termasuk petunjuk yang jelas yang secara eksplisit memungkinkan aparat Pemda untuk melakukan penyesuaian sesuai dengan kondisi daerah masing-masing;

• Tersedia anggaran yang berimbang dan lebih transparan, termasuk petunjuk tentang bagaimana "anggaran biaya operasional" yang besarnya Rp.95 /kg dibagikan diantara para pelaksana yang terlibat dalam penyaluran beras OPK di berbagai tahap.

• Peningkatan biaya operasional dengan memasukkan sedikit biaya untuk memfasilitasi pemantauan oleh masyarakat (seperti: biaya transport masyarakat ke tempat penyaluran/penimbangan).

• Menyempurnakan petunjuk pelaksana (juklak) program, dengan membandingkan besarnya biaya dengan dampak potensial dari beberapa alternatif, antara lain:

• Memperbaiki kriteria dasar dari target penerima menjadi formal, termasuk kriteria baru seperti:

1. Keluarga yang mengkonsumsi protein hanya seminggu sekali,

2. Keluarga dengan anak-anak yang tidak bersekolah, dan

3. Keluarga dengan kepala keluarga yang menganggur, atau mengalami Pemutusan Hubungan Kerja (PHK).

• Menyempurnakan kriteria target penerima dengan memasukkan orangtua tunggal dan atau Kepala Keluarga (KK) individu serta mereka yang tidak memiliki KTP sah.

• Menambah alokasi bulanan menjadi 20 kilogram.

• Diarahkan pada sistem penargetan secara lokal.

Daftar Isi

Latar Belakang
Penetapan Sasaran
Alokasi
Ketersediaan Beras
Mekanisme Penyaluran
Mekanisme Pembayaran
Penyebaran Informasi
Kualitas Beras
Biaya Operasional
Kebocoran dan Penyalahgunaan Program
Sistem Monitoring
Kesimpulan
Lampiran I. Daftar Wilayah Pengamatan Tim SMERU pada OPERASI PASAR KHUSUS (OPK)
Lampiran II. Jumlah Target Penerima Operasi Pasar Khusus
Lampiran III. Plafon Jumlah Penerima OPK