Indonesian President Joko Widodo delivers his state of the nation speech to the People’s Consultative Assembly on August 14 (Source: jakartapost) Jakarta (VNA) – The Indonesian Government has announced that it will allocate 356.5 trillion Rp (24.04 billion USD) for COVID-19-related stimulus funding next year in an effort to continue supporting the country’s economic recovery and strengthen the health care system, including the provision of a coronavirus vaccine.
In his state of the nation speech to the People’s Consultative Assembly on August 14, Indonesian President Joko Widodo pledged to continue this year’s stimulus allocation until 2021, which will also include funding for social protection and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) support, while fiscal relaxation will be implemented again to support the government’s agenda.
The government will provide 25.4 trillion Rp next year for health care, including the procurement of coronavirus vaccines once they are available and to support laboratories and health care facilities.
It will also provide 110.2 trillion Rp for social aid, including for the Family Hope programme, cash transfers and the pre-employment card programme, among others.
Furthermore, the government will allocate 136.7 trillion Rp for ministries and regional administrations to improve tourism, food security, industrial areas, communication and technology development and provide loans for regions, among other projects.
Some 48.8 trillion Rp is being set aside for MSMEs, 14.9 trillion Rp for state-owned enterprises and corporations and another 20.4 trillion Rp for tax incentives.
Indonesia has allocated 695.2 trillion Rp in stimulus spending this year to support the cooling economy and fund the pandemic response with the state budget deficit expected to come in at 6.34 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
The government expects next year’s budget deficit to amount to 971.2 trillion Rp, 5.5 percent of GDP, given the need to further boost the economy and provide social and health care assistance./.
VNA
