Jakarta: DEWI might solely situation an extended sigh and look in silence whereas a white van approached the elementary faculty alongside the highway from his house within the southern suburbs of Jakarta, providing a crowded lunch for about 300 college students as a part of President Prabowo Sub -Structure Initiative free of charge meals.
While the employees downloaded dozens of metal meals containers stuffed with rice, greens and hen pepper, the 50-year-old-who has managed a small catering exercise from the decrease half of its modest two-storey home within the final two decades-did not be capable of do with out feeling just a little jealous and dissatisfied.
“Prabowo promised that this system (free meals) not solely would have improved kids’s well being, but additionally advantages for SMEs (small and medium -sized enterprises) like mine,” Dewi mentioned, who requested CNA to not reveal his full identify. “But the way in which this program has been applied, will profit solely nice gamers with cash.”
Before the free meals program was launched on January 6, DEWI tried to use with the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) to be certainly one of its accomplice kitchens.
But the necessities established by the company, shaped in August final yr particularly to oversee this system, had been effectively past its attain.
His delicacies was immaculate and effectively ventilated. But to qualify, DEWI mentioned he must tear the ceramic counters and change them with stainless-steel tables.
Wooden cabinets that flank the kitchen ought to go, changed by industrial furnishings. Even the ground would wish a restyling for the reason that company requires it to be coated with lucid epoxy and seamless.
And then got here the ultimate and overwhelming situations: its delicacies have to be massive sufficient to arrange a minimal of three,500 meals per day. For a restaurateur specialised in small weddings and conferences, Dewi ought to increase his delicacies at the very least 3 times its present dimensions.
“I estimated that I would wish 300 to 500 million rupiah ($ 18,000 to $ 30,000) to make the required modifications. I haven’t got that sort of cash,” he mentioned.
The Free Meals initiative was the signature program of Prabowo, which permits him to Secure Elections Presidential final yr from a landslide. He hopes to supply a meal on daily basis to about 83 million kids, pregnant girls and moms who breastfeed.
