Bappenas Head: 2021 State Budget Formulated for Job Creation

Minister of National Development Planning (PPN) / Head of National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) Suharso Monoarfa delivers his press statement to reporters on Tuesday (28/7). (Photo by: PR / Ibrahim)

The formulation of 2021 draft state budget (RAPBN) will cover priority programs, according to Minister of National Development Planning (PPN) / Head of National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) Suharso Monoarfa.

According to the Minister, the programs cover several sectors such as industrial area development, tourism, and social reforms, health care, and food security, all of which are considered to have strong implications to create jobs.

“In order to deal with the uncertainty caused by the pandemic, we should answer the question by providing a more effective leeway on government spending even if it only reaches 14.5% of the gross domestic product (GDP),” Suharso during a media briefing after attending a Limited Cabinet Meeting through a video conference, Tuesday (28/7).

The question, he added, will be difficult to answer when it comes to global economic recovery that is expected to take place next year.

The Minister went on to say that almost all countries around the globe are currently managing their state spending to boost economic recovery, adding that Indonesia is listed in the middle-level income country to provide fiscal flexibility for its GDP on government spending.

“We will raise the fiscal deficit from 4.5 percent to 5.2 percent or 0.7 percent in total to provide fiscal space for government spending,” he said.

In accordance with the President’s directives at the Limited Cabinet Meeting, Suharso said that the deficit rate will be designed in such a way to give positive implications for the country’s economic recovery, especially in an attempt to prevent rise in poverty and unemployment.

The Minister also said that the formulation of 2021 draft state budget will focus on jobs or priority programs that can rebuild the economy.

“This measure aims to prevent further decline in our economic growth and to boost employment opportunities. We want to provide a broad opportunity to create more jobs,” Suharso said.

Suharso further said that as many as 3.7 million individuals have lost their jobs so far this year. Citing data from the Bappenas, he said the total number of unemployed people will hit around 7 million by the end of the year.

“A total of 3.7 million unemployment was caused by the pandemic. This is what we will address so we can gradually solve such issues by next year,” Suharso said. (TGH / EN)

Translated by: Syarifah Aisyah
Reviewed by: M. Ersan Pamungkas