The Government Officially Continues The PEN Program Until 2021

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto. (Photo: Twitter @airlangga_hrt)

JAKARTA - The government has decided that it will continue the national economic recovery program (PEN) until 2021. This is because the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is predicted to continue until next year.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto said that in 2021, government policies are still in the economic recovery scenario. According to him, the health sector determines the economic sector.

"If this health problem is resolved, the economy will return. Then the community is expected to be able to adjust their behavior to COVID-19," he said, in his keynote speech at the National Work Meeting of the Manpower Social Security Administration, in Jakarta, Tuesday, August 4.

Airlangga explained that the program carried out to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic was to protect life and maintain livelihoods. According to him, this is the task of the Committee for Handling COVID-19 and National Economic Recovery.

Maintaining life is done by overcoming or suppressing viruses, expanding testing, quarantine and treatment capacity, seeking drugs or research, increasing the capacity of the health sector, as well as vaccine production and distribution.

Meanwhile, maintaining livelihoods is carried out by supporting affected communities and businesses, preparing communities to work productively and safely, and preparing policies for national economic recovery.

Airlangga also said that his party would push for high priority health policies in 2020 and 2021. The government also hopes that in 2022 and 2023 a vaccine will be found.

"So they will be in a normal position," he said.

Not only that, Airlangga emphasized that social assistance will continue until 2021 and will gradually begin to be reduced in 2022. In addition, labor-intensive businesses and industries will continue to be encouraged until 2022.

The government will also restructure Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (UMKM). Besides that, said Airlangga, the placement of funds and guarantees was also carried out so that the real sector could move.

"We will also continue to relax regulations. One of them is by transforming regulations through the Job Creation Bill," he explained.

Efforts to encourage MSMEs have also been carried out by the Government by placing funds in the Association of State-Owned Banks (Himbara) and Regional Development Banks (BPD). In fact, according to Airlangga, the Government has expanded to the corporate sector, namely loans above IDR 10 billion to IDR IDR 1 trillion.

Currently, funds placed in Himbara amount to IDR 30 trillion. Meanwhile, the amount of funds that have been disbursed is IDR 43.17 trillion to recipients as many as 519,797 debtors.

"The total placement of funds in BPD is Rp. 11.5 trillion. It is hoped that this can turn the economy at the community level," said Airlangga.