The social protection program under PC-PEN has protected the most vulnerable groups
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has said the government's COVID-19 Handling and National Economic Recovery (PC-PEN) program has succeeded in protecting vulnerable groups amid the pandemic.

"The social protection program under PC-PEN has protected the most vulnerable groups," Indrawati told a parliament plenary session as she presented a draft law on state budget 2020 accountability here on Thursday.

Among the programs that have supported this achievement are the improvement in the Pre-employment Card program, electricity tariff cuts, and tax incentives for micro-, small- and medium-scale enterprises, she said.

The minister said her evaluation was based on surveys conducted by several government institutions, such as the National Team for Acceleration of Poverty Eradication (TNP2K), as well as institutions outside the government, such as PROSPERA, the Institute for Economic and Social Research (LPEM) of the University of Indonesia, the Demographic Institution, and the World Bank.

Related news: Government counterbalances effects of PPKM implementation through PEN

The PC-PEN program, she said, has helped restrain a sharp increase in poverty rate in 2020 that has reached 10.19 percent, slightly higher than 9.22 percent in 2019.

"In 2020, the number of open unemployment could be withheld at 7.07 percent, although it recorded a slight increase compared to 5.23 percent in 2019," she added.

Indonesia's Human Development Index, on the other hand, increased to 71.94 in 2020 compared to 71.92 percent in 2019, she noted.

According to Indrawati, PC-PEN has been quite responsive in handling any shocks in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The PC-PEN has effectively restrained deterioration and maintained durability amidst the remarkable pressure (of COVID-19)," she said.

Related news: Realization of PEN budget reached Rp252.3 trillion in first semester







Translator: Muhammad Jasuma, Sri Haryati
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2021