Watch Out! DPD Reminds Debt Interest Has Doubled To Rp405 Trillion This Year

JAKARTA - Deputy Chairman of Committee IV DPD RI Sukriyanto reminded the government through the Minister of Finance (Menkeu) Sri Mulyani to continue to improve the management of state finances wisely and carefully. According to Sukriyanto, one of the highlights of the DPD is the management of the state debt.

In his records, the amount of government debt continues to soar from year to year. It is then feared that it will burden the state budget because it still has to bear the rising interest expense.

"The ratio of government debt interest financing to total central government spending shows an increasing trend in the 2022 State Budget," he said during a working meeting with the Minister of Finance at the Senayan Parliament Complex, Jakarta, Monday, January 24.

Sukriyanto revealed that in the 2022 period, interest payments on government debt are targeted at IDR 405.86 trillion or 20.87 percent of the total central government spending.

In detail, he explained that the interest payments on the government debt consisted of Rp393.6 trillion in interest payments on domestic debt. This amount is equivalent to 97 percent of the total liabilities. Meanwhile, the other 3 percent or Rp. 12.17 trillion is the payment of interest on domestic debt.

"The interest payments on the debt have more than doubled compared to the 2015 period which amounted to Rp. 156 trillion or 13.8 percent of the total central government spending at that time," he said.

Just so you know, last year's state revenue in the 2021 APBN was recorded at IDR 2,03.1 trillion. Of this amount, 20 percent of which will be used by the government to pay debt interest in 2022. Automatically, this year's fiscal space will be increasingly limited. Moreover, this value does not include the principal debt which is the obligation.