Govt working hard to minimize deviations in 2020 budget: minister

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