JAKARTA - The government, through the Ministry of Finance, plans to allocate a budget for credit allowances for civil servants (PNS) during work from home (WFH). However, this step has drawn criticism.
Indef's economist, Bhima Yudhistira, said that in the midst of weakening economic growth due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government should have been thrifty in spending the budget. Instead of frugality, the government actually wasted money because it spent a budget for civil servant credit allowances.
Bhima considered, rather than the budget being spent on civil servants, it would be better given to students. This is because not only civil servants are forced to work from home, students also experience the same thing. As a result of the pandemic, physical learning must be eliminated and replaced with distance learning methods or online.
Moreover, he said, civil servants are a group whose income has not been disturbed during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. So, there is no need for additional allowances for civil servants.
"Including waste. Those who need more credit allowance are school students and university students, not civil servants," he said, when contacted by VOI, Wednesday, August 26.
Furthermore, Bhima said, civil servants already have an allowance provided by the government in the form of a 13th salary. According to him, this allowance can be used to buy credit. Meanwhile, students and students are not.
"We already have the 13th salary that can be used to buy pulses. The government must have priorities so that it doesn't get the wrong target," he said.
Previously, Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani said that the Rp 150 thousand credit allowance was given from the budget for unused goods. These budgets will later be diverted for credit allowances.
"Many ministries / agencies and ASN have a lot of work from home (WFH) activities. Many goods expenditure budget is unused. We give support if you want to be reallocated in the form of allowances for pulses. This is called flexibility," he said at a press conference for the National Budget. Jakarta, Tuesday, August 25.
On the same occasion, the Director General of Budget for the Ministry of Finance, Askolani, explained that the credit allowance was provided in order to support employee performance during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is because the pandemic requires employees to work from home to prevent transmission of the virus.
"Currently, Rp150 thousand have been used for employees. We will revise this to the Minister of Finance to Rp. 200 thousand. If approved, it will be set in August. We have coordinated with the General Secretariat," he said.
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