Sri Mulyani: APBN Funds Of IDR 17 Trillion Per Year Support The Expansion Of Internet Infrastructure In Indonesia

Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani. (Photo: Bank Indonesia Youtube Channel)

JAKARTA - Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani emphasized that the government is pouring funds of up to IDR 17 trillion per year through the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN) until 2024.

According to her, the budget support aims to accelerate digital transformation in the country, especially in the 3T or underdeveloped, frontier, and outermost areas.

"This is part of a plan for the next 5 years of government to reach all regions in Indonesia so that they can be connected to the internet", she said virtually at the Opening Ceremony of the Indonesian Digital Financial Economy Festival (FEKDI) initiated by Bank Indonesia, Monday, April 5.

The minister added the support of this fiscal instrument is expected to support the use of information technology in 93,900 schools and Islamic boarding schools, 3,700 Puskesmas (Public Health), 6,000 Regional Police, and Koramil (Military District Command Sector), as well as 47,000 existing villages and sub-districts.

"These efforts are at the core of a just transformation, namely the transformation with spending on infrastructure as a whole to build connectivity in the country for all parties", she said.

The Minister of Finance also said that the transfer of funds to the regions of IDR 9 trillion per year also plays a role in preparing information technology facilities and infrastructure for the wider community.

"This is an important part of the role of the state in bridging the relationship between the center and the regions through technology", she said.

Not only committed to infrastructure development, the government, called the Minister of Finance, is also aggressively improving the quality of human resources (HR).

He said that the use of technology would not have a significant impact without being accompanied by the ability to master the technology itself.

"If digitalization continues to be encouraged but the people are not ready, then in the end we will be dictated by a small group or even by other parties outside Indonesia. For this reason, the preparation of human resources through education and vocational is very important", she explained.

For information, the government took advantage of the pandemic momentum to accelerate the use of information technology by launching the Regional Digitalization Acceleration and Expansion Program (P2DD) initiated by Bank Indonesia.