President Jokowi Tells BPKP, APIP to Enforce Discipline over Domestic Product Spending

President Jokowi inaugurates the 2022 National Coordination Meeting of the Government Internal Comptroller at the State Palace in Jakarta (06/14). (PR of Cabinet Secretariat/Rahmat)

The Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP) and the Government Internal Supervisory Apparatus (APIP) must carry out disciplinary monitoring over government institutions, state-owned enterprises (BUMN), and regional-owned enterprises (BUMD) in achieving the target of expenditure on buying local products.

The statement was made by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo Tuesday (06/14) while inaugurating the 2022 National Coordination Meeting of the Government Internal Comptroller at the State Palace in Jakarta.

The State Budget (APBN) and Regional Budget (APBD) must be optimized to be spent on local products, according to President Jokowi.

“Do not let Rp2,714 trillion of the State Budget and Rp1,197 trillion of the Regional Budget to be spent on imported products instead of local products. It is ironic that people’s money, revenue that we received from taxes including value-added tax, company’s income tax, individual income tax, employees’ income tax, non-tax revenue, as well as export that we have hardly collected is spent to buy imported products,” the President said.

On that occasion, the Head of State ordered the BPKP, APIP to ensure that imported products that can be produced in the country must be removed from electronic catalogue (e-Catalogue), adding that 842 products in the e-Catalogue are to be removed.

President Jokowi further said that the BPKP, APIP must encourage regional governments to have their own regional e-Catalogue.

For the record, out of 34 provinces, 514 regencies/cities in all over Indonesia, only 123 regional governments have regional e-Catalogue.

In addition, the President also ordered the BPKP, APIP to guide the commitment of the Central Government, regional governments, state-owned enterprises, and regional-owned enterprises to realize expenditure on buying local products considering the total commitment amounting to Rp720 billion.

“It is a huge amount. I know it is hard to realize the commitment. It is your duties,” President Jokowi said.

Furthermore, the President underscored that the expenditures of the governments both the Central Government and regional governments must have three main points, namely gaining more added value, improving national economic growth, and efficient, adding that, he also underscored that spending on local products can also improve national economic growth, gain more added value, create jobs, and stimulate investments.

“I ordered Head of the BPKP to synergize this measure, guide all APIP in all regions to carry out local spending program under discipline for the interest of the national economic awakening,” he remarked. (FID/UN) (AP/MUR)