TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The government has disbursed Rp304.6 trillion of its Rp695.2-trillion budget for COVID-19 handling and the economic recovery program as of September this year, the National Economic Recovery and Transformation Task Force (Satgas PEN) stated.

“Until the end of September, we have succeeded in disbursing around Rp304.6 trillion from a total of Rp695.2 trillion, or 43.8 percent (of the budget),” head of the PEN task force, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, said at an online press conference originating from his office in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The total funds of Rp695.2 trillion have been distributed across six major sectors — Rp87.55 trillion has been allocated for health, Rp203.9 trillion for social protection, Rp120.61 trillion for business incentives, Rp123.46 trillion for the MSME sector, Rp53.57 trillion for corporate financing, with support from ministries / agencies as well as local governments amounting to Rp106.11 trillion.

“Since the task force was formed, Rp137.89 trillion has been disbursed and per week, (under) both social protection and the MSME category, as well as sectoral ministries and local governments," Budi informed.

In the social protection sector, the program with the largest budget absorption has been the Family Hope Program (PKH), with a budget of Rp36.3 trillion allocated for 10 million beneficiaries, or the poorest 40 million people in Indonesia, Budi stated.

A total of Rp31.9 trillion has been distributed under the basic food card program to 19.4 million beneficiary families, or 80 million Indonesian people on the lowest economic rung, including Family Hope Program recipients.

The government has also provided Rp24.8 trillion for 9.2 million beneficiaries under the non-Greater Jakarta (Jabodetabek) cash social assistance program, and Rp19.46 trillion for 5.48 million recipients, especially workers who have been laid off, under the pre-employment card program.

Under the recent salary subsidy program, the government has disbursed Rp14 trillion as of August, 2020 to 11.65 million beneficiaries with salaries below Rp5 million.

“There are (funds for) several other programs, such as the village funds unconditional cash transfers (BLT Dana Desa) program and the electricity discount program, that have also been distributed,” Budi said.

Meanwhile, for the MSME sector, the government has already dispensed Rp59 trillion to banks, which will provide financing to Indonesian MSMEs, he informed.

“We have also launched a productive assistance program for micro-businesses, which was launched in August (2020), and in a short time, Rp16 trillion has been distributed to 6.6 million beneficiaries in the form of grants, which are expected to serve as the initial capital for micro business actors to help them roll out their businesses,” he said.

In addition, Rp2.97 trillion has been provided to 7.67 million MSMEs debtors under a micro credit interest subsidy program.

Meanwhile, the ministerial and institutional sectors have distributed Rp12.76 trillion to around 1.97 million workers under the Labor Intensive Program.

"I hope, God willing, (the funds of) more than Rp130 trillion that we have distributed in the last three months in the third quarter can be of maximum benefit to leverage our economic growth in the third quarter," Budi remarked.

Since the PEN Task Force was formed on July 20, 2020, a total sum of Rp137.89 trillion has been disbursed for handling COVID-19, he said.

Meanwhile, during Wednesday’s press conference, Deputy Minister of Finance, Suahasil Nazara, explained that the disbursement of the budget for handling COVID-19, namely in the health sector, has reached Rp21.79 trillion, or 24.9 percent of the ceiling of Rp87.55 trillion.

Read also: Indonesia Records 4,284 Covid-19 Cases on September 30

ANTARA