Watchdog Warns Budget Recovery Of Potentially Leaked And Mistargeted

ILLUSTRATION/PIXABAY

JAKARTA - The National Economic Recovery budget (PEN) is considered by some parties to be potentially leaky and mistargeted. Therefore, the government is required to tighten its supervision and realization. Especially to the entrepreneurs.

The budget ceiling for economic recovery due to the COVID-19 pandemic amounted to IDR 699.43 trillion for the health, economy, and social safety net.

Trisakti University Public Policy Analyst, Trubus Rahadiansyah, said the government should look at the crisis that occurred in 1998. At the time, the government's stimulus to entrepreneurs was misused and had no impact on significant economic recovery.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Trubus said, the government's stimulus for small and medium-sized micro enterprises (MSMEs) was also high. Then, the industry is also given a lot of stimulus with the agreement not to terminate employment (layoffs) employees.

"But in fact flocked to do it and the money obtained from the government was hidden for other activities", he said, in Jakarta, Sunday, May 23.

Trubus said one indicator of a potential leak and not on target stimulus is increasingly visible. One of them is in the MSME sector where populist businesses can no longer survive in the midst of a wave of crisis. In fact, in previous crises, this sector was able to become a national economic savior.

In addition, said Trubus, from the large industrial sector although the assistance provided by the government is quite large the wave of layoffs still occurs. In fact, this condition is further exacerbated by the Replacement Regulation which states that the management of economic recovery funds cannot be sued criminally or civilly because of an emergency.

Trubus said the loophole was being exploited by state officials to keep raising budgets.

"These potential leaks are also very high so be careful. Because of the experience (crisis) of 1998, government grants are also widely misused and later also seen since March last year the government set a budget for handling COVID-19 IDR 405 trillion then now rises to IDR 700 trillion", he explained.

To be known, pen budget realization has reached IDR 172.35 trillion until May 11, 2021. The amount reached 24 percent of the 2021 budget ceiling of IDR 699.43 trillion.

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto detailed the increase in the number of ceilings in several sectors. First, the health sector amounted to IDR 24.9 trillion, an increase of 14.2 percent from a ceiling of IDR 175.22 trillion. Furthermore, social protection of IDR 56.79 trillion or 37.8 percent of the ceiling of IDR 150.28 trillion, priority programs of IDR 21.8 trillion or 17.6 percent of the ceiling of IDR 123.67 trillion.

Airlangga also said some MSME support has reached IDR 42.03 trillion or 21 percent of the ceiling of IDR 193.53 trillion. Also, business incentives have reached 47 percent.