Minister Of Home Affairs Tito Sentil Pemda: Speeding Up Realization Of The Year-End APBD Is Wrong, Must Be Spent, Not Detained

JAKARTA - Minister of Home Affairs (Mendagri) Muhammad Tito Karnavian asked local governments not to withhold spending in the Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBD) until the end of the year.

Tito said that the APBD must be spent as soon as possible to boost economic growth in each region. Unfortunately, there are still district/municipal expenditure realizations which are still considered low.

"This government spending, because it is the main expenditure, should not be withheld, it must be realized, spent," Tito was quoted as saying on the Cabinet Secretariat website, Tuesday, June 15.

Based on data as of June 11, 2021, the realization of provincial expenditures for districts/cities in Indonesia has only reached 24.41 percent. The details of the realization of the provincial APBD are 26.85 percent and the realization of the Regency/City APBD is 23.22 percent.

In fact, according to Tito, the realization of regional spending in the middle of the year should ideally reach a minimum of 40-50 percent. Moreover, the money circulating in the community is the result of spending in the productive sector and in the context of handling the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We will continue to evaluate, I evaluate this every week, please spend it, for program execution, but if possible it is a labor-intensive program that can be felt by the community," said Tito.

He continued, government spending is the main expenditure to make the economy survive, both central and regional. Not only that, spending through the APBD can also provoke the private sector to participate in the economic movement.

He regretted that local governments often carry out the realization of the absorption of the APBD which is often carried out at the end of the year. For this reason, he asked the habit of speeding up budget realization at the end of the year to be changed.

"If that's done, that scenario (end of year spending), will not be able to make our economy recover and bounce back, it's difficult, because government spending during this pandemic is the most important expenditure," he said.

The government has projected economic growth in 2021 at 5 percent. Although in the first quarter it contracted by 0.74 percent, but in accordance with the government's target, economic growth will increase in the second quarter with a growth target of 7 percent.

According to Tito, the economic growth target can be achieved if the central and regional governments work together to realize spending so that the COVID-19 pandemic can be resolved and the economy will bounce back.

"Please once again, ladies and gentlemen, my message is to mandate spending, call the regional secretary, call the OPD, encourage them to execute the planned program, execute it immediately, government and private spending will increase people's purchasing power, the economy will be good," he added.