TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has asked all ministries or institutions to block out their budgets worth Rp50.14 trillion this year through an automatic adjustment policy. The policy was initiated on December 29, 2023, at the behest of President Joko Widodo alias Jokowi.

The government apparently did not withhold spending on all programs. For instance, the budget for the new capital or IKN project was resumed, as per the ministerial letter number S-1082/MK.02/2023.

“In accordance with the direction of the President of the Republic of Indonesia on the submission of the 2024 Budget Implementation List and taking into account the global geopolitical conditions, it is deemed necessary to continue the automatic adjustment policy,” as written in the first point of the letter.

It is noted that several programs are exempt from the policy, such as social assistance programs, election spending, IKN spending, multi-year contract payments, availability payments, the budget for four new autonomous regions, and the budget for programs to support increased production of rice and corn.

Programs and activities in ministries and institutions that are considered less priority or can be postponed are blocked by the Finance Ministry, such as honoraria, official trips, meeting packages, other operational goods expenditures, and other non-operational goods expenditures.

Tempo reached out to the Finance Ministry’s Director General of Budget, Isa Rachmatarwata, and the ministry’s spokesperson Deni Surjantoro, via WhatsApp messaging app for confirmation, but no responses have been received at the time of writing this article.

As previously reported, the Finance Ministry denied that the automatic adjustment policy was implemented to make way for the social assistance program ahead of the upcoming general elections. However, the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, recently admitted that it was one of the funding sources for the social assistance programs.

AMELIA RAHIMA SARI

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