Indonesia News Gazette

All stakeholders must work to resolve issues concerning the distribution of social aid that have continued to persist, vice chairman of Commission VIII of the House of Representatives (DPR) Ace Hasan Syadzily has said.

“Commission VIII has reminded several times regarding this issue,” Syadzily told ANTARA here on Monday.

He highlighted Social Affairs Minister Tri Rismaharini’s findings regarding allegations of rice social aid monopoly in Lumajang, East Java, on Saturday, in addition to a field report the minister received while visiting Bandung District on Friday.

In its implementation, social aid distribution has been plagued with a variety of issues, from the aid recipient data collection to aid distribution, Syadzily said.

When it comes to data, there remains the problem of records reflecting the names of people who have passed away as social aid recipients, as seen in Bandung, he elaborated.

There is another problem regarding the distributed Non-Cash Food Aid (BPNT), the commodity value of which is above average and the quality is not as expected, he added.

He urged the Social Affairs Ministry to promptly resolve the social aid issue by fixing the system that has been deemed problematic for some time.

“Fix the system immediately. The problem is clear. Issues regarding social aid have been unresolved for too long,” Syadzily asserted.

In addition, he also announced that the House’ Commission VIII will invite State-owned Banks Association (Himbara) that has been tasked to distribute aid funds to help recipient families (KPM) in the near future.

Source: Antara News

The capital city Jakarta has become an important part of Indonesia’s economic recovery given the big contribution the province makes to the national economy, Jakarta’s Governor Anies Baswedan said during the JaKreatiFest 2021 event here on Monday.

According to data provided by Statistics Indonesia (BPS), Jakarta remains the biggest contributor to the national economy. The province contributed 17 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP), followed by East Java and West Java, in the second quarter of 2020, Baswedan noted.

Meanwhile, according to BPS, the gross regional domestic product of Jakarta has reached Rp721.5 trillion in the second quarter of 2021, he said.

The governor also revealed that Jakarta’s economic growth in the second quarter of 2021 is in the positive zone at 10.9 percent.

Based on Jakarta BPS data, this economic growth has followed an 8.33-percent contraction during the same period of 2021.

This is a sign of an economic recovery that must be utilized by entrepreneurs, Baswedan said.

One of the strategies that the Jakarta provincial government is implementing is vaccination as it is one of the solutions to recover the economy from COVID-19’s impact, the governor added.

“Vaccination has become important. This has become a game-changer and we hope that the vaccination movement can be completed soon,” he said.

As of Sunday, the number of first COVID-19 vaccine dose recipients in Jakarta has reached 9.6 million, 107.7 percent of the 8.9 million targeted recipients.

Earlier, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto had said that stemming the spread of COVID-19 is key for accelerating Indonesia’s economic recovery in the second quarter of 2021.

Source: Antara News

The Jakarta Creative Festival (JaKreatiFest) 2021 was held to support the ‘Proud of Indonesian Products’ and ‘Proud of Indonesian Tourism’ campaigns and expedite national economic recovery (PEN), head representative of Jakarta’s Bank Indonesia, Onny Widjanarko, said.

“We want to provide information, story, and interaction with industry players in syariah enterprises, creative industry, national film industry, coffee industry, Jakarta tourism, fashion industry, and payment digitalization,” he explained at the JaKreatiFest opening ceremony, held virtually here on Monday.

By collaborating to find various potential new sources of economic growth, syariah enterprises, creative tourism industry, including MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, Exhibitions), as well as digital economy and finance, can find the space and opportunity to expedite national economic recovery, he said.

With this consideration, the theme of JaKreatiFest 2021 is empowering new, creative, innovative, and inspirational sources of economic growth in the digital era to accelerate PEN, Widjanarko added.

He expressed the hope that the event will have an impact, such as adding MSMEs to the marketplace.

Meanwhile, Governor of Jakarta, Anies Baswedan, said JaKreatiFest 2021 has the potential to expedite economic recovery by supporting entrepreneurs’ capacity in terms of funding access, production, and marketing.

JaKreatiFest has the potential to have a positive impact on MSME development, creative industry, tourism, and digitalization, especially in Jakarta, he elaborated.

JaKreatiFest has been jointly organized by Jakarta’s Bank Indonesia and Jakarta’s provincial government to synergize creative economy development activities.

Based on data from JaKreatiFest’s website, around 144 MSMEs entrepreneurs attended the virtual exhibition.

Before JaKreatiFest began, it was preceded with training activities such as halal certification, coaching clinic, and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) consulting at the Tokopedia Marketplace.

Podcasts and competitions related to tourism and coffee were also held as part of the festival.

Source: Antara News

Bank Indonesia (BI) has continued to encourage digital finance development, which it considers one of the transformation pillars of the national economic structure, Bank Indonesia Deputy Governor Rosmaya Hadi has said.

The central bank’s commitment to continue to support digital economic and financial integration is being realized through the Indonesian Payment System Blueprint for 2025, Hadi informed at the JaKreatif Fest (Jakarta Creative Festival) 2021 here on Monday.

“Through this blueprint, it is expected that an integrated digital payment ecosystem will be established,” the deputy governor said.

The interoperability, access expansion, and multi-instruments that will emerge through the blueprint will make transactions convenient for the public, she explained.

The blueprint envisages basic infrastructure for new economic sources that optimize digital processes, she added.

“It will also increase national efficiency and economic growth, and eventually financial inclusion,” Hadi continued. Furthermore, Bank Indonesia has launched the National Standard Open API Payment (SNAP), Hadi said.

SNAP has been created to build a healthy, competitive, and innovative payment system industry, so as to facilitate efficient, secure, and reliable payment services to the public, she explained.

The existence of SNAP will unite, integrate, and connect various payment system steps and services that are performed for the advancement of the Indonesian economy, Hadi informed.

“Bank Indonesia has continued to push digitalization of retail payment systems through the use of QRIS (Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard),” she noted.

According to Hadi, the current number of QRIS user accounts is close to 9 million, dominated by micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

“In 2021, BI targets that the use of QRIS will reach 12 million merchants,” the deputy governor said.

Meanwhile, BI Governor Perry Warjiyo has said he is optimistic the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), or digital rupiah, will be able to increase national economic efficiency.

“We will circulate the digital rupiah through digital blockchain technology and distributed ledger technology (DLT) so it will really be efficient,” Warjiyo said earlier while announcing the outcome of the monthly meeting of the central bank’s board of governors here.

Banks connected to the DLT system, in the context of digital rupiah wholesale, will also feel the efficiency while making transactions in the money market since they will not incur a transaction fee, he added.

The digital rupiah will also make retail trade efficient since it would lower transaction costs, Warjiyo said.

Source: Antara News

The government has spent Rp340.84 trillion on the national economic recovery program, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs and chief of the COVID-19 Handling and National Economic Recovery Committee (KPC-PEN), Airlangga Hartarto, has said.

“The realization of the national economic recovery program has reached 45.8 percent, or Rp340.84 trillion,” he said at an online press conference here on Monday

The realization of the national economic recovery program for the health sector has reached 34 percent, or Rp80 trillion; social protection 55 percent, or Rp102.69 trillion; micro, small, and medium entrepreneurs 29 percent, or Rp48 trillion; priority programs 44 percent, or Rp52.3 trillion; and business incentive program 50.3 percent, or Rp56.7 trillion, he informed.

He said the government has distributed 10 kilograms of rice each to 28.8 million families across Indonesia as of August 30, 2021.

“Non-cash food assistance (BPNT) for non-Family Hope Program has been 100 percent channeled to 8.8 million people,” he informed.

In addition, the government has also disbursed a wage subsidy of Rp1 million for each of 2.09 million workers, he added.

“The realization of Presidential assistance for micro businesses has reached 90.52 percent, or Rp14.2 trillion, for 11.84 micro business agents,” he said.

He further said President Joko Widodo has also noted progress in the handling of COVID-19 cases in Java and Bali as reflected by a decline in the number of agglomeration areas whose public activity restriction (PPKM) level has been downgraded.

“The government has declared the PPKM level for Greater Malang and Greater Solo has been downgraded to 3 from 4 as of August 31, 2021, so that the regions implementing level 3 PPKM in Java and Bali this week include Jabodetabek (Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi), Greater Bandung, Greater Surabaya, Greater Malang, and Greater Solo,” he added.

According to the President, the number of districts and cities in Java and Bali implementing level 4 PPKM has declined to 25 from 51, the number of districts and cities implementing level 3 PPKM has increased to 76 from 67, and the number of districts and cities implementing level 2 PPKM has risen to 27 from 10. Meanwhile, the number of provinces outside Java and Bali implementing level 4 PPKM has also declined to four from seven earlier.

Source: Antara News

Vice President Ma’ruf Amin on Monday summoned Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian to discuss draft government regulations for Papua’s special autonomy law.

At the meeting, Karnavian reported on developments in the formulation of two government regulations pertaining to institution and financial governance for Papua’s special autonomy, vice presidential spokesperson Masduki Baidlowi said in a written statement released on Monday.

According to Karnavian, the two draft government regulations must be endorsed no later than October 19, 2021 or three months of the enactment of Law No. 2/2021 concerning the second round of amendment to Law No. 21/2001 concerning special autonomy for Papua province, Baidlowi said.

“The newly-enacted special autonomy law needs government regulations to implement it. The deadline for the endorsement of the government regulations is three months after the enactment of the law,” he added. The home affairs minister has submitted the draft government regulations, which involve 33 ministries and non-ministerial government institutions, to the vice president, he informed. The draft government regulations also cover the planned proliferation of Papua province, he added.

“The home affairs minister has submitted all the draft government regulations to the vice president, including the planned proliferation of Papua province which constitutes the aspiration of Papua people,” Baidlowi said. At Monday’s meeting, the vice president highlighted the effort to drastically reduce the poverty rate in Papua province, which has become the target of the government’s programs, he added.

Papua is among the seven Indonesian provinces targeted under the government’s program to tackle extreme poverty in 2021, he said.

“The vice president asked the home affairs minister to map extreme poverty in Papua and West Papua soon through coordination with the Papua and West Papua provincial governments,” he added.

Source: Antara News

Carbon tax will be implemented at the right time with payment slabs that would not burden entrepreneurs, Finance Ministry’s special staff for strategic communication Yustimus Prastowo has assured.

“Certain sectors that have large contributions and quite ready to be imposed with carbon tax will be chosen. There will also be non-fiscal incentive to provide stronger support for investment and economic transformation,” he said during a webinar on carbon tax here on Monday.

According to Prastowo, the government has invited various stakeholders, such as entrepreneur associations, academicians, and environmental activists to formulate a fair carbon tax.

“There is still enough time for us to discuss it, and for the government, the House of Representatives, entrepreneurs, and activists to provide their input so that the carbon tax policy is designed holistically and comprehensively,” he stated.

The government is mapping various fees designed to reduce carbon emissions, including the Non-Tax State Revenue (PNBP) and regional tax, he informed.

This stipulation will be integrated so there is no overlapping implementation in the future, he said.

“This is the importance of formulating an effective carbon tax that fulfills its goal, while also not being a burden with multiple taxes,” Prastowo explained.

The suggestion on carbon tax within the Tax Bill (RUU KUP) is expected to become the new chapter for mainstreaming the green economy, he remarked.

Within the tax bill, the government plans to impose a tariff of Rp75 per kilogram of carbon dioxide equivalent, he informed.

This carbon tax tariff will be calculated based on the price of carbon trade from the ‘Result Based Payment REDD +’ or the ‘Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation’ event in 2020, he said.

The carbon tax is designed to not only provide revenue, but also fulfill Indonesia’s commitment within the Paris Agreement, especially regarding the reduction of carbon emissions, he added.

Source: Antara News

Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita has said that he believes the local product utilization policy and the rapid development of electricity infrastructure will boost the national industrial sector’s performance.

“Electricity acts as the heart of industrial sector life. Hence, it is understandable if the actors who want to invest in Indonesia have always asked about our electricity supply availability,” he remarked in a press statement here on Saturday.

According to the ministry’s data, the import value of the electrical equipment industry reached Rp116 trillion in 2019, while the number fell to Rp103 trillion in 2020.

The decline in imports has indicated that the Indonesian electricity supporting industry is growing and is able to meet the domestic market demand, Kartasasmita observed.

Currently, only 413 items out of the 3,404 certified electrical equipment products have less than 25 percent of local content requirement (TKDN), he said. Meanwhile, there are 664 products with TKDN value of 25-40 percent and 2,327 products with more than 40-percent TKDN value, he added.

The minister said that currently, the domestic high-voltage electrical equipment industry is capable of producing various items for electric power generation, transmission, and distribution components.

The items that have been locally manufactured comprise electricity cables, which are being produced by PT KMI Wire and Cable Tbk, PT Citra Mahasurya Industries, PT Supreme Cable Manufacturing & Commerce Tbk, PT Voksel Electric Tbk, and PT Jembo Cable Company Tbk, he informed.

Meanwhile, other domestic produced items are electrical equipment for transformers (with TKDN value of 22.06-60.35 percent), pressure vessels (15.10-46.80 percent), industrial pumps (42.80-62.67 percent), transformers (22.06-60.35 percent), insulators (17.71-54 .08 percent), and power cables (13.17 to 99.95 percent), he added.

In addition, electrical panels (with TKDN value of 17.32-75.5 percent), kWh meters (27.76-62.54 percent), connectors (19.52-41.47 percent), isolators (63.85-69.45 percent), solar modules (41.50-45.50) percent, and transmission towers (49.24-55.86 percent) are also being manufactured by local producers, the minister disclosed.

The government is targeting the average TKDN value to reach 40 percent in all industrial sectors by 2024.

“We continue to encourage the optimization of the TKDN policy to provide a huge multiplier effect to the national economy — stimulating the supporting component industrial sectors to strengthen our manufacturing industry structure,” Kartasasmita said.

Source: Antara News