Guessing The Direction Of The Government's Subsidy Policy In Jokowi's Speech At The MPR Annual Session

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) is scheduled to deliver a speech on the 2023 State Budget Draft Law (RUU) along with its Financial Note at the MPR RI Annual Session and the 2022 Joint Session of the DPR RI and DPD RI, today, Tuesday, August 16 at the Parliament Complex. Senayan, Jakarta.

Meanwhile, one of the agendas that is believed to be conveyed by the Head of State is the direction of the future subsidy policy.

To note, the state's financial condition allocated to the subsidy/compensation sector throughout this year is nearing the end.

The reason is, the value of the additional budget to IDR 502 trillion from the previous IDR 100 trillion per year is considered insufficient to meet the need for subsidies until the end of the year.

This indication can be seen from the consumption of fuel oil (BBM) which has received government assistance, which is almost close to the total stock.

Pertamina launches that the subsidized diesel quota for 2022 is 14.9 million kilo liters.

The amount that has been distributed up to July has reached 9.9 million kilo liters.

A similar condition also occurs in Pertalite fuel, which has absorbed 16.8 million kilo liters of the quota of 23 million kilo liters.

On the other hand, this year's state budget is expected to enter a new trend with the potential for a decline in state revenues.

This projection is in line with the downward trend in the prices of Indonesia's leading commodities, which have had a positive impact on the state budget.

The situation was disclosed by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) in its latest report earlier this week.

“This is what we may need to be aware of in relation to price changes. The decline in the prices of our main export commodities, such as CPO, should be our concern and could be a sign of the end of the windfall effect,” said BPS Deputy for Distribution Statistics and Services, Setianto.

It should be remembered that the pressure on the state budget will not only come from declining state revenues, but also from the mandatory law that requires the budget deficit to return to a level below 3 percent in 2023.

So, what steps will President Jokowi take in the midst of the current dynamic situation? The answer will be revealed in today's speech.