JAKARTA - The government through the Minister of Finance (Menkeu) Sri Mulyani emphasized that the State Budget remains on standby as a responsive and flexible instrument to respond to the development of daily COVID-19 cases which increased at the end of June 2021.
"The state budget remains flexible and provides full support in many ways. This is not related to the issue of budget availability but the speed of implementation because it is faced with the desire to make better governance and also more precise from the target side," he said at an online press conference, Friday, July 2nd.
According to the Minister of Finance, stricter activity restrictions through the Emergency PPKM were carried out to prevent transmission and reduce the number of additional daily cases.
"The government realizes that the implementation of the Emergency PPKM policy will affect economic activity and have the potential to put pressure on the poor and vulnerable and the business world (MSMEs). For this reason, quick, precise and measurable anticipatory steps are needed," he said.
In order to support Emergency PPKM, said the Minister of Finance, the preparedness of the APBN as a responsive and flexible policy instrument is needed to strengthen the health sector and programs. This is detailed in the following nine strategic policies.
1. Additional health budget of around Rp. 13.01 trillion (from Rp. 172.84 trillion to Rp. 185.85 trillion), among others, to accelerate payment of claims for patient care, health workers incentives, and vaccinations, as well as other health care in the regions.
2. Accelerate the disbursement of Quarter III PKH in early July 2021, for 9.9 million Beneficiary Families/KPM with a budget requirement of around Rp. 7.1 trillion.
3. Fulfillment of the initial target of 18.8 million KPM and accelerated disbursement of basic food cards in early July 2021, with an index of assistance of Rp. 200,000 per month.
4. Extension of the Cash Social Assistance (BST) for 2 months, namely July – August 2021, which is distributed 1 (one) time in July, an additional budget of Rp 6.1 trillion is required, given to 10 million KPM non-Sembako Program and Non PKH, with an index of IDR 300,000 per month.
5. Extended 50 percent electricity discount for 450VA customers and 25 percent for 900VA Social Welfare Integrated Data customers (DTKS) from July to September 2021, given to 32.6 million customers, and an additional budget of Rp1.91 trillion is required.
6. Extension of Minimum Account Assistance, Expense/Subscription Fees for 3 months, namely July – September 2021, given a 50 percent discount for 1.14 million business, industrial, and social customers, and an additional budget of Rp0.42 trillion or Rp420 billion is required.
7. Relaxation of targeting requirements and relaxation of Village BLT distribution, among others by expanding the criteria for Village BLT recipients through the granting of flexibility to Village Deliberations to add KPM so that more poor people receive BLT, and can be distributed quarterly and can be rapelled for villages experiencing geographical difficulties . Village BLT has been allocated Rp. 28.8 trillion and has been given to 5.02 million KPM with the amount of Rp. 300,000 per month.
8. The addition of the target of Assistance for Micro Business Actors (BPUM) for 3 million new recipients (July-September) from the previous 9.8 million recipients, with an aid index of Rp. 1.2 million, requires an additional budget of Rp. 3.6 trillion.
9. The addition of about 2.8 million new Pre-Employment Card participants, with an index of training benefits of Rp. 1 million, training incentives of Rp. 600,000 per month for 4 months, and survey incentives of Rp. 150,000, requires a budget of Rp. 10 trillion.
To note, all of these policies are implemented within the framework of the implementation of the national economic recovery program (PEN) with a budget in the 2021 State Budget of IDR 699.43 trillion.
"The government and all levels of society need to work hard together so that the handling of COVID-19 can run effectively and the economic recovery can be accelerated," closed Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani.
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