Sri Mulyani: Discipline On Health Protocol Is The Key To Economic Recovery In 2021

JAKARTA - The government, through the Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati, acknowledges that national economic recovery is a difficult homework in 2021. However, it does not mean that this is impossible. In fact, the domestic economy, which contracted in the second quarter of 2020, has shown an improving trend.

Sri said, economic recovery in 2021 could not only be carried out by the government. According to him, it takes cooperation from all groups, including the government, the community, and even business people.

"This is extraordinary homework. Whether our economy will continue to recover and recover, rebound continuously depends on the COVID-19 problem itself," he said in a webinar, Friday, December 11.

According to Sri Mulyani, the main problem that must be resolved first is COVID-19. This is because the virus was the initial cause of the weakening of the world and national economies.

Sri Mulyani said, various steps have been taken by the government in handling COVID-19. One of them is providing a COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccines are considered the hope of economic revival because they can stop the spread of COVID-19.

However, according to him, vaccines are not automatically able to stop the transmission of the COVID-19 virus. Therefore, he asked the public to adhere to health protocols during this pandemic.

As is known, 1.2 million doses of vaccine made by Sinovac, a pharmaceutical company from China, have been in Indonesia. Currently, the vaccine is in the process of testing the efficacy and safety of anti-viruses at the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM).

"Indonesia needs to maintain the discipline of health protocols. Even though we have imported vaccines now, it does not mean that in the very near future the COVID-19 can be controlled," he said.

On the budget side, said Sri, the state budget will continue to support economic recovery in 2021. Where the priorities include expenditures in order to build a stronger future Indonesian economic foundation.

Sri Mulyani said, spending on human resources is still a top priority. For education more than Rp. 550 trillion, health Rp. 196 trillion, social assistance more than Rp. 400 trillion and for infrastructure more than Rp. 430 trillion.

"The goal is to move the wheels of the economy next year. So that the contraction that occurred in the second quarter of this year began to shift to a reduction of the current contraction of around 3 percent and we hope it will get closer to zero," he explained.