Report To The DPR, Sri Mulyani Claims That The First Semester State Budget Is Responsive To Control The Pandemic And Restore The Economy

Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The government through the Ministry of Finance said that the first semester of 2021 APBN was carried out in a responsive and flexible manner as the main instrument in supporting the handling of the pandemic and the recovery of the national economy.

Minister of Finance (Menkeu) Sri Mulyani said that the realization of the APBN in the first half was in line with improving economic activity and support for fiscal policies taken by the government, in dealing with the impact of the pandemic and accelerating economic recovery.

"The state budget has become extremely important in boosting the economy and this is shown by one of the ways in which government spending is the driving force in the first semester," he said during a virtual meeting with the DPR RI's Budget Agency, Monday, July 12.

The Minister of Finance added that the expansionary fiscal strategy can be seen from the increase in the realization of the implementation of the State Budget.

Meanwhile, the realization of state revenues reached IDR 886.9 trillion or grew 9.14 percent (yoy) reaching 50.9 percent of the 2021 APBN target.

Meanwhile, the realization of state spending reached Rp. 1,170.1 trillion, an increase of 9.38 percent compared to the same period last year. Through the development of state revenues and expenditures, the realization of the budget deficit in the first semester of 2021 reached IDR 283.2 trillion or 1.72 percent of GDP (Gross Domestic Product).

Then, the allocation for the 2021 PEN program is IDR 699.4 trillion with the realization until the first semester of 2021 of IDR 252.3 trillion, or 36.1 percent of the ceiling.

"The government through the 2021 State Budget has worked hard to increase the realization of state spending and has been responsive in providing protection to the public in the form of support for health care, social protection, and support for MSMEs and the business world," he said.

Furthermore, the handling of COVID-19, especially the acceleration of vaccination and restrictions on mobility will determine the pace of economic recovery which requires a very large mobilization of funds and human resources (central-regional).

The former IMF boss also explained that the government had reduced its budget projection for this year's state budget.

"The prognosis is that until the second semester of 2021, around Rp. 219 trillion, the financing is lower than the APBN Law. This is a good thing, we reduced the increase in debt that should have been Rp1,177 trillion to Rp958 trillion,” he said.

At the end of his report, the Minister of Finance said that the State Budget instrument was continuously strengthened to respond to the negative impact of the increase in COVID-19 cases on the economy.

"Economic recovery expectations need to be encouraged, but pandemic control including accelerating the implementation of vaccinations and community discipline in implementing the 5M health protocol will greatly determine the pace of economic recovery in the future," concluded Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani.