TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:The government has confirmed it will not revise the 2003 State Budget following demands to suspend increases in electricity tariffs, telephone rates and fuel prices. The reason for this is that revising the State Budget would result in uncertainty and the government prefers to implement an adapted State Budget or an accelerated State Budget per semester. It is better to monitor implementation of the 2003 State Budget, said Anggito Abimanyu, an assistant to the Minister of Finance on Monday (13/1). According to Anggito, the current situation does not need a revised state budget yet. Increased oil prices on the international market and the decreased interest of the Bank Indonesia promissory note are more beneficial to the State Budget. And it will be even more beneficial if the government realizes the plan to withdraw bonds early in this year. It means that we can reduce our debts and the interest of foreign debts will be reduced too, he said. Anggito said Indonesia had revised the State Budget in 2001 and it was a traumatic experience. At that time, it resulted in an uncertain situation while a new committee was preparing the new state budget. The current situation is different and this is why the government has decided to monitor this while discussing realization of the State budget with the House of Representatives (DPR). (Dara Meutia Uning --- TNR)
