The program will create tens of thousands of MSMEs and hundreds of thousands of job opportunities.Jakarta (ANTARA) - The government will spend some Rp400 trillion of its procurement budget to purchase micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) products, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Panjaitan has stated.
"Soon, we will launch a program to oblige around Rp400 trillion of the total goods procurement expenditure to be spent through the MSMEs e-catalogue," he said at the virtual opening of the National Movement for Proud Indonesian-made Products (Gernas BBI) on Thursday.
On average, the government allocates a total procurement budget of up to Rp1,170 trillion per year, and the figure tends to increase every year.
"We have calculated that from the Rp400 trillion spent on MSMEs products, it will increase economic growth by 1.71 percent," the coordinating minister said.
He noted that his party had collaborated with the Government Goods or Services Procurement Policy Agency (LKPP) to encourage the purchase of government goods through the MSMEs e-catalogue, which has curated good quality products.
"The program will create tens of thousands of MSMEs and hundreds of thousands of job opportunities," he noted.
Related news: Govt must prioritize domestic medical devices during procurement: MPR
The program to encourage the use of MSMEs products in government procurement will be launched at the beginning of March 2022. The implementation of the program will be evaluated regularly.
On the same occasion, Head of LKPP Abdullah Azwar Anas has said that his party will simplify the e-catalogue management mechanism for the procurement of central and regional government goods.
He has targeted, as of March 2022, that the e-catalogue will have 200,000 products. The number of the products is estimated to reach one million items by the end of 2022.
As of February 24, 2022, there are 150,399 products listed in the e-catalogue.
Previously, in 2021, the number of the products displayed in the e-catalogue were only about 52,000 to 90,000 items.
Related news: KPK interrogates 7 witnesses in COVID-19 goods procurement graft case
Translator: Sanya Susanti, Uyu Liman
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2022
