Indonesia’s Digital Social Assistance Program Faces Implementation Hurdles

The Ministry of Social Affairs launched the Cek Bansos mobile application, allowing citizens to submit proposals for social assistance directly. The platform is intended to reduce bureaucratic steps and speed verification from 75‑200 days to as little as one minute up to six hours.

The pilot targets 12.5 million beneficiary families across 43 districts in 26 provinces, yet only about one million families (8%) have registered. Governance expert Prof. Ulung Pribadi warned that limited digital access could create a new class of poor and highlighted persistent data‑integration problems among ministries that risk excluding vulnerable households. He said, “Jangan terlalu cepat dinilai berhasil hanya karena sudah menggunakan aplikasi dan mengintegrasikan data.”