TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo is giving all ministries and agencies until the end of February to meet their budget spending targets. If ministerial budgets are disbursed on time, Jokowi said, economic sectors can move forward amid threats of uncertainties stemming from the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The president applauded the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry for using its budget to build a water canal in Bandung early this month, as an example of how the budget spending could be accelerated through early disbursement.

Widodo also mentioned how the Social Affairs Ministry actualized their budget plan by disbursing it for the Harapan Keluarga social assistance program at the start of Q1/2020.

"I also hope that the village funds can be disbursed immediately so that villages get additional purchasing and consumption power," the president said during a plenary cabinet session at Bogor Palace, Tuesday, February 11.

Jokowi emphasized on the importance of spending budgets on time and as early as possible as a "countermeasure against the weakening global economy due to the coronavirus epidemic."

In this year's state budget, the government sets an economic growth assumption of 5.3 percent, which is within the range of Bank Indonesia's (BI) target—pegged between 5.1 and 5.5 percent domestic.

ANTARA | DIO SUHENDA (Intern Translator)