State Expenditure Realization Grew by 11% as of March

virtual press conference of Minister of Finance, Friday (17/4)

Budget realization of state expenditure grew by 11 percent as of March 2020, according to Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani.

Personnel expenditure accounted for 8 percent of the realization growth because at the beginning of this year some ministries/institutions disbursed performance allowance.

“In contrast, goods expenditure shows contraction of 6.6 percent. In total, the state has realized Rp48.6 trillion of personnel expenditure, Rp35.2 trillion of goods expenditure, Rp12 trillion of capital expenditure, and Rp47.2 trillion of social assistance expenditure which grew by 27.6 percent,” the Minister said.

According to the Minister, realization of capital expenditure which was allocated 32 percent higher than previous year is projected to face a slow down since the state budget will be prioritized to health sector, social assistance, and economic recovery during COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, budget for capital expenditure will be cut.

For non-ministerial/institutional expenditure, debt interest payment reached Rp73.8 trillion or 25 percent of budget allocation. Payment for fuel and electricity subsidy will also decrease because of the current oil price drop.

The Minister added that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s instruction on budget reallocation and program refocusing of the State Budget 2020 will also change budget realization of 10 largest ministries/institutions.

Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing, she added, is allocated the budget for development of hospitals or for labor-intensive programs which will help economy of the people affected by the pandemic.

In addition, expenditures on health and social sector will be speeded up in April-May. On social sector, the beneficiaries of social assistance programs such as the Family Hope Program (PKH), non-cash social assistance, Staple Food Card, and Pre-employment Card will be increased.

“As for expenditure on health sector, procurement of medical equipment and payment of several medical incentives will also be speeded up in April,” Sri stated.

On that occasion, the Minister also delivered the possibility of an increase in personnel expenditure such as basic salary raise, and professional allowance for teachers as well as non-tenured teachers at Ministry of Religious Affairs and Ministry of Education and Culture.

“These aspects contribute to personnel expenditure as of 31 March 2020. The increase persists on a number of ministries/institutions which have great amount of budget ceiling such as Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Religious Affairs, and Ministry of Defense,” the Minister explained.

Regarding goods expenditure, the budget for official trips will be reallocated. The figure decreased from Rp45.4 trillion last year to Rp43.7 trillion which until March realization of the budget has reached Rp4.9 trillion.

“We will lock this budget since all state civil apparatus is currently prohibited from official trips,” she concluded. (HIM/EN)

Translated by : Rany Anjany S
Reviewed by: Mia Medyana