"When we formulate the budget, there are three budget functions which must be taken into account, such as budget for allocation, budget for stabilization, and budget for distribution," Deputy Minister of Finance, Suahasil Nazara, said at the Global Forum on Adaptive Social Protection in Germany on June 14, 2023, according to an official statement received here on Friday.
Based on the three functions, the ministry and relevant stakeholders set priority programs and events for people, including the social protection program, he informed.
State revenue is used by the government to benefit the people through its programs, Nazara said.
What makes a program important is the way it covers everyone and brings prompt changes, which can effectively bring equality in Indonesia, he added.
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The government is also pursuing programs other than social protection, and in formulating the budget, it always uses data and adapts to dynamics, he informed.
"We want to ensure that the money will be spent well, money will (benefit) the people, and the money being spent will be managed with good governance," Nazara explained.
He informed that as of April 2023, Rp122.4 trillion (US$8.19 billion) has been realized for social protection programs, with Rp57.3 trillion (US$3.8 billion) allocated for ministry and institution spending, Rp62.8 trillion (US$4.2 billion) for non-ministry or institution spending, and Rp2.2 trillion (US$147 million) for transfers to regions.
Social protection spending aims to maintain people's purchasing power and anticipate an increase in prices during holidays, he said. The programs include the Family Hope Program (PKH) with 9.9 million families as beneficiaries, Staple Goods Card with 18.2 million families as beneficiaries, as well as Smart Indonesia Card (PIP) and University Smart Indonesia Card, he explained.
The programs also include National Health Insurance (JKN), Childbirth Insurance, a program for workers who are not wage earners and third-class non-workers, house assistance for Cianjur disaster victims, as well as subsidy and cash assistance for villages, he added.
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Translator: Agatha Olivia Victoria, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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