Bouncing Back from Women's Socio-Economic Shocks in Surabaya

POLICY BRIEF Background Problem Identification Recommendations

JUNE 2020

BOUNCING BACK FROM WOMEN’S SOCIO-ECONOMIC SHOCKS IN SURABAYA BY: TIARA PUTRI

ASEAN Youth Organization Ambassador

WHERE WE ARE The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered the possibility of an economic recession in Indonesia, including Surabaya. It has a direct impact on weakening the ability of the poor to make ends meet, especially women as vulnerable group. Most of the poor depend on their livelihoods in the informal sector.

The presence of a comprehensive policy is needed to protect women and the poor so that they do not fall further into the abyss of deeper suffering.

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION According to data obtained from BPS, the majority of Surabaya people's livelihoods work as laborers / employees engaged in services, industry and trade. One sector that plays an important role in contributing Regional Original Revenue (PAD/Pendapatan Asli Daerah) in this region comes from the industrial sector. This condition must be considered by the government.

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RECOMMENDATIONS ELECTRICITY SUPPORT PROGRAM MIN 10% OF COSTS BY THE CITY GOVERNMENT FOR THE INDUSTRIAL SECTOR Benefit targets: Medium Enterprises and SMEs Data Sources: Directory of Large-Medium Industry Companies, BPS, and Surabaya City Trade Office Recipient Criteria: Medium Enterprises and SMEs in SurabayaTotal Assistance: IDR 7 Billion Duration: July-September 2020 Technical distribution: company representatives and MSMEs will be called upon to sign the terms of the agreement and the City Government will work with PLN to cut costs 10% for companies that have been bound by the agreement

Requirements: Will not lay off as long as assistance is disbursed.

Consideration: This electricity support program is useful to reduce the company's input which swells due to Covid-19, but it is not proportional to the output obtained.

The hope is that this assistance will withstand the number of layoffs in the city of Surabaya so that the community will continue to have an income and the economy can continue to spin. Funds will be taken through refocusing direct expenditure funds.

COVID CASH ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

Benefit targets: poor households (RT/Rumah Tangga), single mothersData Source: Surabaya City BPS, Surabaya City Public Relations Release Recipient Criteria: Population below the poverty line, 141 thousand people or 4.88% of the total population (BPS, 2019) Nominal: IDR 450,000 / RT / month. Note: rounding from the Poverty Line per capita per month by the Central Statistics Agency IDR 440,538 Total Assistance: 141k x 450k x 2 months = IDR 126.9 billion Duration: July-August 2020 (2 months) Technical distribution: Non-cash distribution scheme to avoid crowds of citizens and avoid corruption Requirements: RT recipients of the PKH program do not get Covid Cash Assistance Consideration: The government has not yet issued an unconditional cash transfer program as a social protection scheme during the coronavirus pandemic. In fact, Unconditional Cash Assistance has been proven to help the poor in dealing with socio-economic shocks because it can be used directly to meet the most urgent needs. The source of funding can be taken from refocused budget of Surabaya outer ring road project (JLLB) of IDR 132 billion.

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CORONA X INFLUENCER SOLIDARITY FUND Benefit targets: extension of the Covid Cash Assistance program including single mothers and other vulnerable groups Data source: Surabaya City Public Relations Release, The Jakarta Post, Kitabisa, Nominal target: IDR 2.3 billion (+ refocusing of Surabaya City Anniversary budget / IDR 3.7 billion, total IDR 5 billion) Technical: Surabaya City Government cooperates with local influencers with a high engagement rate to work together to raise solidarity funds, the funds collected are handed over to the City Government to be managed through distribution of task forces, social services, and Covid Cash Assistance program extensions so that the allocation of solidarity funds becomes systemic, transparent, and has a clear direction of distribution.

Consideration: In an unprecedented pandemic situation, conventional methods are no longer effective. The creativity of the government response must be in accordance with the crisis at hand, and the magnitude of the response must be in accordance with the scale. To increase awareness of the fundraising program, influencers can reach large-scale audiences, especially activities through social media have become the preference of almost all levels of society. Some Surabaya local influencers that can be considered for cooperation are Dave "Londo Kampung", Revina VT, Devina Aurel, etc.

Fundraising via influencers has also been promoted in several other cities, but the lack of clarity about the funds is still a scourge for donors. Therefore, through the collaboration of the influencer X government, the people of Surabaya can have more trust. Why? Because the distribution of funds will be reported with transparency and accountability by the Task Force and Dinsos Surabaya.

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a collaboration of:

references: Badan Pusat Statistika Directory of Large-Medium Industry Companies, Surabaya City Trade Office Kitabisa The Jakarta Post