Suharso Asks For A 2025 State Budget Deficit To Be Lowered To 1.5 Percent

JAKARTA - Minister of National Development Planning (PPN)/Head of the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) Suharso Monoarfa hopes that the deficit in the 2025 State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN) can be lowered to a level of 1.5 percent -1.8 percent. This is necessary so that the next government has a more flexible fiscal space.

"We hope that the Minister of Finance (Sri Mulyani Indrawati) and Commission XI, if that is agreed upon, we want the deficit to be even lower between 1.5 percent and 1.8 percent so that there is a fiscal space for the government to come if it will use the article," he said in a meeting with Commission XI of the DPR, Wednesday, June 5.

According to Suharso, this is based on articles 5 paragraphs 1 and 2 in Law (UU) number 17 of 2007 concerning the 2005-2025 National Long Term Development Plan (RPJPN), which explains that the current government is required to develop a Government Work Plan (RKP) and APBN for the next new government.

"Article 5 paragraphs 1 and 2, the point is that the current government is required to form and develop a Government Work Plan (RKP) and the State Budget Draft for the first term of the next presidential government," said Suharso.

In Law 17/2007 article 5 paragraph 1 explains in order to maintain the continuity of development and to avoid the vacancy of the national development plan, the President who is ruling in the last year his government is required to prepare a Government Work Plan (RKP) for the first year of the next Presidential Government period.

Meanwhile, in Article 2 of the law, as a guideline for drafting the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget for the first year of the next Presidential Government period.

Suharso said that there are rules that explain that the next elected president has ample space to improve the RKP and APBN through the Revised State Budget (APBN-P) mechanism.

"But there is also an explanation, it is stated that the next elected president has ample space to improve the RKP and APBN in the first year of government through the mechanism for changing the APBN-P," he said.

Meanwhile, the government designed a 2025 State Budget deficit of 2.45 percent to 2.82 percent of GDP. This step is referred to as a way to realize the three main government targets, including improving economic growth, welfare, and equitable distribution.

Previously, Minister of Finance (Menkeu) Sri Mulyani Indrawati said the government was targeting a deficit in the range of 2.45 percent to 2.82 percent in the 2025 State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN).

Sri Mulyani said that she was targeting the deficit because it was to finance all priority programs belonging to the elected president and vice president Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka who had been included in the 2025 Macroeconomic Framework and Fiscal Policy Principles (KEM-PPKF).

"The state budget deficit is designed between 2.45 percent to 2.82 percent, government consumption and government investment are estimated to grow in the range of 4.7 percent to 5.2 percent," he said at the 19th DPR Plenary Meeting. Session Period V 2023-2024, Tuesday, June 4.

According to Sri Mulyani regarding the deficit and budget financing, we can convey that the Government appreciates the honorable views of Council Members regarding the importance of maintaining healthy, prudent, and sustainable fiscal management.