inp.polri.go.id - Jakarta. Indonesian Audit Watch (IAW) is urging the government to strengthen the governance of the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) Program to ensure its implementation is transparent, accountable, and provides legal certainty for all parties involved.
IAW Founding Secretary Iskandar Sitorus stated that strengthened governance is necessary given that the MBG is a national strategic program involving the state budget and various stakeholders, including farmers, livestock breeders, fishermen, cooperatives, MSMEs, and service provider partners.
"The larger the program, the greater the government's responsibility to maintain its management system," he said in Jakarta on Monday (7/27/2026).
According to Iskandar, the success of the MBG is not only measured by the number of operating kitchens or the amount of food distributed, but also by the government's ability to build a system that ensures service quality, food safety, investment certainty, and protection for all parties involved.
He assessed that several challenges remain in the implementation of the MBG, including changes to technical guidelines, adjustments to kitchen capacity, the partner verification process, changes in the legal relationship between the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), foundations, and partners, and evaluations following suspected food poisoning cases in several regions.
According to him, policy changes are a normal part of the program improvement process. However, too frequent changes without a transition period and adequate explanation can create uncertainty for partners who have invested.
Therefore, the IAW encourages the government to maintain a balance between system improvements and protecting the public and partners who have acted in good faith in implementing the program.
"A major program will be remembered not for its budget size, but for its ability to build public trust," said Iskandar.
The IAW hopes the government will use the MBG evaluation phase to strengthen governance, clarify regulations, improve oversight, and ensure that the use of state funds is accounted for in a transparent and accountable manner.
(ad/inp/pr/rs)
