Day: September 6, 2021

The realization of state income stood at Rp1,647.7 trillion, or 96.9 percent of the target of Rp1,699.9 trillion set in the 2020 state budget, the House of Representatives (DPR) Budget Committee member, Dewi Asmara, informed on Monday.

During a working meeting with the Finance Ministry, she said the realization of state expenditure reached Rp2,595.4 trillion, or 97.7 percent of the target of Rp2,739.1 trillion.

As a result, the 2020 state budget registered a deficit of Rp947.6 trillion, or 91.1 percent of the target of Rp1,039.2 trillion, she informed. The realization of budget financing to offset the deficit is Rp1,193.2 trillion, or 114.8 percent of the 2020 state budget target, pegged at Rp1,039.2 trillion, Asmara said.

“Based on the budget deficit and the budget financing, the amount of unspent funds reached Rp245.6 trillion,” she added.

She said accumulated cash surplus in early 2020 reached Rp212.7 trillion, of which Rp70.6 trillion had been used.

Based on the accumulated cash surplus in early 2020 and the use of accumulated cash surplus and unspent funds in 2020, the unadjusted accumulated cash surplus amounted to Rp387.6 trillion and further increased to Rp388.1 trillion by the end of 2021, she added.

Source: Antara News

Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno has said that his ministry will develop medical as well as fitness and herbal tourism programs given their large market share.

“Almost every year, domestic tourists spend more than US$11 billion on health tourism abroad,” he noted at a virtual weekly press conference, held by the ministry here on Monday.

Therefore, several areas such as Jakarta, Medan, and Bali will be promoted as health tourism destinations in the early stages and the concept will later be expanded to other destinations, he added.

The ministry will collaborate with various agencies from other ministries and private sector groups, such as the Indonesian Medical Tourism Association, to support health tourism in Indonesia, he informed.

Indonesia already has good health tourism potential, which can be further developed to allow the nation’s hospitals to compete with hospitals abroad, Uno said.

“For example, Eka Hospital for spinal or spine care. The hospital is the only hospital in Southeast Asia that has German-made medical devices,” he added.

Furthermore, he said that in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic challenges posed by it, efforts to increase resilience in the domestic health industry are very necessary.

One of the strategies to increase such resilience is to promote health tourism, with efforts in the early stages focused on domestic tourists, and in the next stage on foreign tourists, he observed.

Meanwhile, fitness and herbal tourism, he said, also have a very large market share, especially in Bali.

“Many foreign tourists have even often come to Bali to do fitness-based tourism and herbal tourism, especially for aesthetics and cosmetics. Therefore, improving the quality of human resources must be done through reskilling and upskilling to provide services with even higher standards,” the minister added.

Source: Antara News

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has expressed the hope that the Unqualified Opinion (WTP) obtained from the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) on the 2020 Central Government Finance Report (LKPP) can further boost public trust.

“It is expected that the public can become more trustful that the nation’s finance is handled well and is optimized to provide the best service for all Indonesian people,”she said during a meeting with the House of Representatives’ (DPR) Budget Agency (Banggar) here on Monday.

In addition, she expects the WTP to demonstrate the efforts taken for preserving the accountability and the quality of State Budget (APBN) management.

However, she did not deny that there is still room for improvement that needs to be considered since Indonesia’s BPK has provided notes and recommendations.

“Whether it is conveyed through the LKPP inspection result report or through several of BPK’s review result reports regarding regional government’s fiscal transparency, fiscal continuity, and fiscal independence,” Indrawati said.

To this end, the government is committed to following up on BPK’s recommendation as best as it can and in accordance with the regulations so that the quality of state budget management can be preserved now and in the future, she added.

The WTP is the end result of all the extraordinary efforts made to maintain state budget accountability amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the minister remarked.

While the nation’s revenue is experiencing a drastic drop, state spending is increasing instead to fulfill the state’s obligation to protect all Indonesian citizens, she said.

“Not just in terms of health, but also in terms of the economy due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” she asserted.

The Unqualified Opinion on the 2020 LKPP is the fifth that the central government has received since 2016.

Source: Antara News

Minister of Law and Human Rights Yasonna Laoly said the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (MLA) Bill would make legal cooperation between Indonesia and Russia easier.

“We think that this is important for us to do in the midst of the advancement of the international world and technology that makes the world easier to connect,” Laoly remarked here Monday.

The MLA Bill has officially been signed by the House of Representatives (DPR) and the executive and has been approved to be brought before the DPR plenary meeting, he informed.

As a result of increased global connectivity due to technological advances, the types of crimes have also grown to include cybercrime, terrorism financing, money laundering, among others, Laoly noted.

Therefore, the MLA Bill would strengthen legal cooperation between Russia and Indonesia in preventing international crimes, he observed. Notes on state sovereignty are essential for all parties, he added.

“We, on behalf of the President, convey that we are ready to continue the stages of ratifying this agreement at the plenary meeting at level II determined by the DPR,” the minister said.

During a working meeting with the DPR, all factions in Commission III of the DPR approved the entire text of the MLA Bill between Indonesia and Russia, he informed.

If the MLA Bill is approved and passed into law, cooperation in preventing and eradicating criminal acts, especially transnational ones, can become effective, Laoly said.

Transnational crimes that can be prevented through the ratification of the bill include narcotics, corruption, taxation, terrorism, and money laundering, he noted. With this agreement, the relationship and cooperation between the two countries in the field of law enforcement will further improve, he added.

This is also in line with the goals of the Indonesian state as enshrined in the preamble to the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, the minister said.

Source: Antara News

The government is working hard to minimize the risk of irregularities and maintain accountability for every transaction in the 2020 State Budget (APBN), which has been extraordinary, Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati has said.

“There is no exception for transactions for handling COVID-19 and National Economic Recovery (PC-PEN) 2020,” she said during a working meeting with the budgetary board (Banggar) of the House of Representatives here on Monday.

Therefore, the government has continued to carry out various monitoring programs and strengthen them, even when discussing planning for program design and budget allocation, she emphasized.

This has been done through the involvement of the Government Internal Supervisory Apparatus (APIP), law enforcement officers, and the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) as external auditors for the government, the minister explained.

The BPK has carried out a comprehensive audit on the implementation of the 2020 budget, especially on the implementation of National Economic Recovery (PC-PEN) 2020, Indrawati informed.

“The BPK uses all types of audits under the authority of the institution, namely financial statement audits, performance audits, and audits with specific objectives,” she said.

According to Indrawati, all BPK audit results have been communicated to the government and the government has made serious efforts to follow up on all BPK records and recommendations.

With these efforts, she said, the quality of the accountability of the National Economic Recovery program and the implementation of the 2020 State Budget could be maintained, thus, the 2020 Central Government Financial Report has also received an Unqualified Opinion (WTP).

Source: Antara News