The minister had reported to President Joko Widodo and the President-elect regarding the 2025 State Budget posture related to the initial discussion by the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI), in this case, through the Macroeconomic Framework and Fiscal Policy Principles (KEM & PPKF).
"The posture is not expected to deviate much from our discussion with the DPR RI," the minister stated after a limited meeting on Monday led by President Widodo to discuss the government's work plan, Financial Note, and the 2025 State Budget Draft.
Mulyani also said the president pressed for the 2025 State Budget posture to accommodate the President-elect's priority programs, including the free nutritious meal program.
"Based on the president's directive, we started calculating for programs that are often mentioned, such as free nutritious meal. Then, several new initiative programs are currently being finalized with the team from the elected president," Mulyani revealed.
She then confirmed that no changes were made to the budget for free nutritious food, which is Rp71 trillion (US$4.2 billion).
"Until now, the total budget is Rp71 trillion. Regarding the details, the President-elect will prepare his team for further implementation," Mulyani stated.
Earlier, the current administration had budgeted Rp71 trillion in the 2025 State Budget to run the free nutritious program.
The budget for one meal portion of free nutritious food is estimated at Rp15 thousand (US$0.9).
Meanwhile, the issue regarding the change in the budget to Rp7,500 (US$0.45) per portion started gaining momentum.
However, the issue was directly denied by Vice President-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka, who emphasized that the budget for one portion of free nutritious food would remain at Rp15 thousand.
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Translator: Benardy Ferdiansyah, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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