The Government Will Not Cut Priority Programs for Deficit Response, Discarded Non-Productive Spending
JAKARTA - Secretary of State Prasetyo Hadi emphasized that the government would not cut President Prabowo Subianto's flagship programs, such as Free Nutritious Meals and People's Schools, to close the deficit.
What is chosen is to comb over the spending that is considered less productive and delay spending that is not urgent.
After a coordination meeting on the presidential priority program at the Ministry of Defense, Jakarta, Tuesday, March 17, Prasetyo explained that the fiscal deficit must be read in terms of one budget year, not cut from a certain event.
According to Prasetyo, this efficiency step was actually already underway even before the escalation of the war which later also contributed to the global situation.
The government, said Prasetyo, has routinely evaluated shopping posts that can be suppressed from the beginning, ranging from overseas business trips to the construction of buildings that are not urgent and do not interfere with the performance of ministries.
"I as the Minister of Home Affairs, who is the end of the line, issued a permit, tightened the foreign service trip," said Prasetyo.
He said that spending that has a small impact on the community is actually the target of reallocation. Funds from these posts will be shifted to support programs that are considered to directly touch the people.
"We prefer to reduce spending that we think is less productive or less impactful. That is what we then reallocate so that the programs that are productive, have an impact, and can help relieve the burden on the community, are the ones that must be prioritized," he said.
Prasetyo also said that the study on the possibility of cutting the salaries of officials and members of the DPR was still being detailed. Meanwhile, regarding recruitment for priority programs, the government is still finalizing the design of cross-ministerial needs, ranging from fields, qualifications, to placement locations.