"By doing so, there will be no stalled priority projects," Jokowi said.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has asked ministers and government institution heads involved in the discussion of the draft 2017 state budget to prioritize urgent projects put on hold in 2016.

"By doing so, there will be no stalled priority projects," Jokowi said while chairing a limited meeting to discuss the development of the 2016 state budget and the draft 2017 state budget here Friday.

He also asked them to discuss the draft state budget with the House of Representatives (DPR) commission and budget committee soon, and to ensure that the discussion of the 2017 state budget would be completed as scheduled.

With regard to extra budget funds, he asked the ministries and government institutions to propose it to the House Commissions themselves.

"There must not be such a thing any more. They must propose it to the House Commissions themselves. We must start coordinating with them through a government mechanism. Otherwise, our budget will be on the line," he said.

The discussion of the draft 2017 state budget at ministries and government institutions must be limited to programs, the president said.

Funds needed to finance priority programs should not only come from the state budget but also from the private sector, he further stressed.

"We must improve the business climate and invite investors while at the same time maintaining the momentum of economic growth," he said.

To implement projects, the president asked ministries and government institutions to accord priority to the private sector without eliminating incentives that have been given to them.

"If the private sector cannot fully invest, we can offer them other options including a public private partnership (PPP) scheme. If they still cannot do so, we will assign state-owned companies or regional government-owned companies to do so. And if both cannot do so we will use the state budget or the regional budget fund as a last resort," he said.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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