"The government's countercyclical spending policy, especially through the PEN program, has protected vulnerable communities and stimulated the business sector to grow positively again," the minister noted in a statement here, Tuesday.
Indonesia is one of the few countries whose output has returned to pre-pandemic levels. As of December 10, 2021, PEN program realization had reached 69.8 percent.
In detail, the program has reached 66.7-percent realization in the health sector, 81.5 percent in social protection, 70.9 percent in priority programs, 100 percent in business incentives, and 47.9-percent realization in the MSMEs and Cooperatives sectors so far.
The new program is a job loss guarantee, a derivative of the Law on Job Creation. Changes in allocation for several PEN components include the handling of extreme poverty, labor-intensive program, and job loss guarantee.
“Wage subsidies have greatly helped part of the tourism sector as well as the retail sector," Hartarto noted.
The minister also remarked that in 2021, the government had made efforts to handle extreme poverty in 35 districts and cities spread across seven provinces through two programs: the basic needs card program and the village assistance program.
“The government has targeted to lower the extreme poverty rate by 3-3.5 percent and poverty to lie in the range of 9.2-9.17 percent in 2022,” he added.
A budget worth Rp414 trillion has been allocated for the COVID-19 Handling and National Economic Recovery Program (PC-PEN) in 2022 to handle the pandemic in the health sector and protect the community.
Budget for the health sector reaches Rp117.9 trillion; public protection, Rp154.8 trillion; and Rp141.4 trillion for strengthening economic recovery.
The government strives to promote economic revival and support structural reforms using the 2022 State Budget (APBN), he said.
In addition, the 2022 State Budget will be prioritized for handling of the pandemic. Hence, the State Budget serves as an instrument to maintain Indonesia's economic recovery while also supporting the country's COVID-19 handling programs.
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Translator: Kuntum Khaira, Raka Adji
Editor: Sri Haryati
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
