"We will not be able to purchase drones and ROV (Remote Operation Vehicle) in 2025," Basarnas head, Kusworo, remarked after a working meeting with Commission V of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) on Thursday.
Earlier, his side considered buying equipment, such as SAR Drones, Long Range Radar SAR, and Drone ROVs, as a strategic need as the agency lacked the necessary equipment for search and rescue missions during accidents and disasters.
Kusworo remarked that due to budget efficiency, Basarnas would also have to re-adjust its strategic programs, including technical guidance for volunteers or SAR potential in disaster-prone areas, operational readiness activities, and maintenance of equipment like ships and training facilities.
However, the agency head affirmed that his side must work optimally to serve the community amid this efficiency.
Commission V of DPR RI ratified the indicative ceiling of the 2025 budget for several ministries and institutions, including Basarnas, with a budget cut of up to 50 percent.
Chairman of Commission V, Lasarus, announced the indicative ceiling of the 2025 budget efficiency for Basarnas amounted to Rp1 trillion (US$59 million), reducing the previously approved budget from Rp1.4 trillion (US$83 million) to Rp486 billion (US$28 million).
On the same occasion, Commission V also agreed on budget efficiency for the Ministry of Public Works, the Ministry of Housing and Settlement, the Ministry of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions, the Ministry of Transmigration, and the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).
Lasarus said the ratification of this indicative ceiling had been stipulated in Presidential Decree Number 1 of 2025 and reinforced by the Decree of the Minister of Finance Number S-37/MK.02/2025.
On a separate occasion, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati stated that the president initiated the budget efficiency to allocate funds to more important programs for the community, such as the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG), food and energy self-sufficiency, and improvements to the health sector.
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Translator: M. Riezko Bima, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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