There Is Pagebluk COVID-19, Sri Mulyani Adds Pilkada Budget IDR 1 Trillion From The State Budget

Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani. (Photo: Setkab)

JAKARTA - Minister of Finance (Menkeu) Sri Mulyani approved of the additional budget for the 2020 regional head election (Pilkada) proposed by the general election commission (KPU) in a joint meeting with Commission II of the DPR. The increase in the budget is to ensure that the Pilkada on June 15 runs smoothly.

In the first stage, Sri Mulyani granted a budget of IDR 1 trillion out of the total requested by the KPU of IDR 4.77 trillion. This budget comes from the national revenue and expenditure budget (APBN).

"In order to support the entire Pilkada process, we decided to give the first stage or IDR1 trillion as requested by the KPU. While continuing to review documents that are in accordance with statutory provisions," he said, at a Commission II meeting, Thursday, 12 June.

The Ministry of Finance, said Sri, has been communicating intensively with the Ministry of Home Affairs combing the fiscal capacity of the regions that will hold regional elections. From this sweeping, Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian said that he needed an additional Rp1.02 trillion from the state budget.

In addition, Tito also stated that Rp. 391 billion was needed for the General Election Commission (KPU) of the Republic of Indonesia, Bawaslu RI, and the Honorary Council of Election Administrators (DKPP). So that the total additional funds needed is IDR 1.4 trillion.

However, according to Sri Mulyani, referring to the Ministry of Home Affairs' Secretary General's letter given to her party, the funds needed for the regional head elections amounted to Rp1.36 trillion.

In addition, Sri Mulyani admitted that she also received a letter from the KPU regarding the budget requirements needed. In the letter dated June 9, he said, the KPU conveyed the need for an additional budget of IDR 4.7 trillion.

"We are now in a position, first to get a calculation or request from the KPU for Rp.4.77 trillion, it is divided into three stages. Stage one is Rp1.02 trillion, stage two is Rp.3.29 trillion, and stage three is Rp0.46 trillion. That is to fulfill the implementation of Pilkada in 270 regions, "he explained.

Furthermore, Sri Mulyani reminded that the responsibility for financing the elections rests with the regional government, namely through the Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBD).

"The Minister of Home Affairs is also combing the regional commitments that they should have reserved the Pilkada budget from the start. But we are aware that this COVID-19 has an impact on regional income as well," he said.

Sri Mulyani assumed based on the initial discussion, that all of them had included the criteria for implementing the pilkada to be safe from COVID-19 and this was already in the budget submission given to the Ministry of Finance.

"In order to support the political election process which has already been decided, we have decided (to allocate) one trillion in stages as requested by the KPU in the hope of not disrupting the process," he said.

However, Sri Mulyani fully supports the 2020 simultaneous regional election process by continuing to oversee including the use of the budget.

Use of Additional Budget

KPU chairman Arief Budiman said an additional budget of Rp.4.77 trillion is needed because there are a number of additional items needed to be able to hold regional elections with the COVID-19 health protocol.

The tools and goods in question consist of:

1. 13 million cloth masks

2. Disposable masks for KPPS officers

as many as 304 thousand boxes containing 50 sheets

3. Spare disposable masks for voters at TPS, as many as 609 thousand boxes containing 50 sheets

4. Hand sanitizer, 6.5 million bottles

5. 2 million bottles of disinfectant

6. Plastic gloves as many as 5.4 million boxes

7. Liquid soap as much as 2.4 million bottles

8. Infrared thermometer as many as 712 thousand pieces

9. Face shields as many as 4 million pieces

10. Tissue as many as 1.8 million boxes containing 250 sheets

11. 1.2 packs of trash bags

12. 317 thousand drums / barrels and taps

13. Hazmat totaling 327 thousand pieces

14. Plastics for officers as many as 1.7 million pieces

Arief hopes that the government can make the additional budget for the 2020 elections easier. Moreover, the first phase of the pilkada will be held on June 15.

"We need APBN support so that discussions can take place more quickly," he said.

Not only that, Arief also asked for the disbursement of additional funds for phase one in June, stage two in August, and stage three in October. The increase in the KPU's budget is the result of a restructuring of the amount of additional budget proposed earlier on 3 June.

However, said Arief, if all regional work units could become efficient again, he said that the budget could be saved by Rp.641 billion to Rp.4.13 trillion.

"But once again this is just a discussion, not yet the approval of the provincial and city regencies," he said.