Home Minister: Inflation Rate Remains Under Control

Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian after a meeting with President Prabowo Subianto at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, Monday (11/24). (Photo by: BPMI Setpres)

Inflation rate has remained under control, according to Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian.

The Minister made the statement following a meeting with President Prabowo Subianto at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Monday (11/24), where he reported on the stability of the inflation rate and regional economic situations.

“The inflation rate is well-managed, with the food sector serving as a counterbalance to deflation,” he said, noting that the inflation rate is 2.86 percent year-on-year and 2.1 percent year-to-date.

“More regions are experiencing [price] declines, while very few see increases. It has been dealt with properly by the Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Amran, who is also the Head of the National Food Agency, and the National Logistics Agency (Bulog) in collaboration with regional governments,” he said.

The Minister stated that rice commodities, which had become a concern, have shown significant improvement, and the prices of shallots, chili, and eggs have increased, which should be anticipated to support the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program.

During the meeting, the Minister also reported regional economic growth and the realization of regional income and expenditure as of Sunday (11/23).

“North Maluku province saw the highest growth, while Central Papua province had a negative growth. I reported it, and he asked about the causes. Some of them are delayed due to Freeport exports being impacted by a fire at a smelter and a landslide, which has led to production delays. As a result, the economic growth of Central Papua, Timika capital, contracted by 8 percent,” he said.

Regarding regional income and expenditure, 552 regions have achieved an average of 82-83 percent of the target income, whereas regional expenditure has hovered around 68 percent.

“We are pushing the expenditure to go above 75 percent or 80 percent,” he said.

For the record, Tito also addressed other issues to the President during the meeting, including the Ministry of Home Affairs’ progress in supporting government programs and the Executive Committee for the Acceleration of Special Autonomy Development in Papua.

“I asked the President to accept their meeting request and give them directives. It would be great if he could do it at the same time as the meeting with Papua Island’s regional heads to expedite development,” he remarked. (BPMI of Presidential Secretariat) (DH/MMB)