Indonesia’s Social Affairs Ministry Proposes 2021 Budget of Rp 91.9 Trillion

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Indonesia’s Ministry of Social Affairs proposed a 2021 budget of Rp 91.9 trillion on June 24.

Social Affairs Minister Juliari Batubara announced the proposal during a meeting with the People’s Representative Council (DPR) Commission VIII.

The ministry’s 2021 budget is significantly higher than the budget ceiling set by the Ministry of Finance at Rp 62.02 trillion. Juliari Batubara deemed the cap insufficient.

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Juliari explained during the meeting that the social affairs ministry’s programs are all categorized under the national priority programs.

Furthermore, the finance ministry’s budget cap was based on spending calculation before the coronavirus pandemic.

The majority of the 2021 budget will be allocated to social assistance programs.

Around Rp 28.7 trillion will go to the Family Hope Program (PKH) and the Non-Cash Food Assistance Program (BPNT) will get Rp 28 trillion.

Social protection programs will require Rp 60.5 trillion according to Juliari.

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President Jokowi has instructed the number of recipients of the PKH program to be increased while the BPNT program is to continue in 2021.

The instructions would require an extra Rp 4 trillion to the Ministry of Social Affairs' budget.

The Rp 4 trillion excludes the additional BPNT program beneficiaries that President Jokowi had requested.

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Currently, the BPNT program caters to 15 million families as the program beneficiaries.

Jokowi is aiming to widen the BPNT coverage to 20 million families. With the increased target, the ministry would require an additional Rp 17.85 trillion in next year’s budget.

In total, Juliari Batubara has asked for the Ministry of Social Affairs' budget in 2021 to receive Rp 91.9 trillion.

Chairman of DPR Commission VIII Yandri Susanto said that the DPR approved of the reasoning behind the ministry’s budget increase.

Yandri added that the DPR understands how the target growth for the PKH and BPNT programs would significantly push the ministry’s 2021 budget total to Rp 91.9 trillion.

Coronavirus pandemic activities

The Ministry of Social Affairs has rolled out a range of programs as Indonesia continues to mitigate the coronavirus pandemic.

The rapid spread of the Covid-19 virus has put Indonesia’s vulnerable groups at risk including the country’s senior citizens.

Read also: Pay Extra Attention to Indonesia’s Senior Citizens in the New Normal: Minister

The ministry has distributed basic goods packages (sembako) across five provinces in Indonesia.

More than 6,486 sembako packages have been distributed to beneficiaries in Banten, West Java, Central Java, East Java, and the Jogjakarta Special Region. 

(Writer: Tsarina Maharani | Editor: Krisiandi) 

Source: https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2020/06/24/17051931/mensos-ajukan-anggaran-2021-rp-919-triliun-fokus-untuk-program-perlindungan