Minister Of Home Affairs Invites Local Governments-Entrepreneurs To Accelerate Use Of Domestic Products

JAKARTA - Minister of Home Affairs (Mendagri) Muhammad Tito Karnavian invites local governments (Pemda) and entrepreneurs providing goods and services to accelerate the use of domestic products (PDN).

This invitation was conveyed by the Minister of Home Affairs when he officially opened the 2022 Procurement Network (APN) Apkasi exhibition at Hall A1, Jakarta International Expo, Kemayoran, Jakarta, Wednesday, August 24.

"My job as Minister of Home Affairs is of course to support the strategy that has been developed by LKPP and encourage local governments to at least 40 percent of spending on goods and services use domestic products," he said in a written statement quoted by ANTARA.

The Minister of Home Affairs also appreciated Apkasi's step in organizing the 2022 APN. He also appreciated the Government Goods/Services Procurement Policy Institute (LKPP) which had created an e-catalog online platform and store.

The platform is considered to facilitate the auction process, reduce corruption, and increase domestic production.

The Minister of Home Affairs added that in addition to the campaign to be proud of domestic products, concrete steps are needed to slightly "force" the regional government and SOEs.

This concrete form of "coercion" ala the Minister of Home Affairs will be applied in reviewing the Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBD), where if the regional government does not attach the purchase of 40 percent of domestic products, the Ministry of Home Affairs will reject it and ask for it to be revised again.

The Minister of Home Affairs also invited three provincial/district/city regional government associations and three provincial/district/city DPRD associations to have the same vision in terms of the national movement for the absorption of PDN.

"This is a momentum for all of us in the midst of an uncertain global situation, where we are haunted by the shadow of a crisis that has hit almost all countries in the world, so one of our strategies is to use domestic products, produce as much as possible in our own country, and not depending on products from abroad, involve MSMEs and national entrepreneurs and from the government side we encourage the use of 40 percent of the APBD to be spent with domestic products," he said.

Similarly, Head of LKPP Abdullah Azwar Anas said it was time now to make the government's procurement of goods/services (PBJ) easier to access.

His party has cut the business process of displaying products in the government's e-catalog from previously going through eight stages to only two stages.

LKPP also encourages the development of local e-catalogs to make it easier for local governments and local entrepreneurs in the regions to access each other.

"Thirdly, we have started to freeze foreign products that have substitutes for local products and so far we have more than 13 thousand types of foreign products," he said.

Anas added that his party also reported to the Minister of Home Affairs which district/city governments have and have not developed local e-catalogs.

Previously, the General Chair of Apkasi, Sutan Riska Tuanku Kingdom, said that the 2022 APN event was an Apkasi initiative as an event to bring together end users of goods/services with providers of government goods/services so that the budget planning and preparation of the Government PBJ could be carried out properly.

In addition, with this activity, local governments can see firsthand the quality of the goods offered and not only see through e-catalogs.

"Through this activity, local governments can avoid fictitious companies providing goods/services. As for the providers of goods/services, this activity can be regarded as one stop promotion and information," said Sutan.

In addition to the exhibition, this activity will also hold forums related to the Government PBJ by presenting competent resource persons such as from the Ministry of Home Affairs, LKPP, BPK, Ministry of Industry and others.

The Dharmasraya Regent also appealed and encouraged all Apkasi members to immediately realize local e-catalogs.

"Let's take advantage of the forums at the 2022 APN to interact directly with resource persons and can also consult directly with LKPP regarding the process of making regional e-catalogs," said Sutan.