Jakarta (ANTARA) - Budget realization at the Ministry of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration in 2023 reached Rp3.12 trillion (around US$200.4 million), or 98.13 percent of the total budget of Rp3.18 trillion.

"Today, the ministry has achieved a budget absorption rate of 98.13 percent for 2023," said Minister Abdul Halim Iskandar during a meeting with the members of the House of Representatives (DPR) Commission V in Jakarta.

The ministry's employee expenditure in 2023 reached Rp265 billion, or 98.52 percent of the allocated budget of Rp269 billion, and its goods and services expenditure amounted to Rp2.81 trillion, or 98.16 percent of the allocated budget of Rp2.86 trillion.

Meanwhile, the ministry's capital expenditure in the same year reached Rp38 billion, or 93.51 percent of the total budget of Rp41 billion.

The ministry's budget absorption rate has increased by 1.67 percentage points compared to 2022's 96.46 percent.

Halim remarked that the realization of the ministry's budget in 2015 and 2016 was below 80 percent.

"At the beginning of 2015, 2016, absorption was below 80 percent. Then, in 2017, it rose to 88 percent, and in 2018, it was above 90 percent," he stated.

The achievement of budget realization was then commended by Commission V of DPR RI, including member Tamanuri.

He attributed the increase in budget absorption since 2022 to the Ministry of Villages' effective budget management.

“We were impressed by the significant increase in your ministry's budget absorption rate. It's a remarkable achievement,” he remarked.

For 2024, Commission V approved the budget for the ministry worth Rp2.75 trillion (around US$176.4 million).

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Translator: Cindy Frishanti Octavia
Editor: Anton Santoso
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