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Jakarta injects Rp 2 trillion more for COVID-19 countermeasures
Regional funds earmarked for urgent expenditures, land acquisitions as well as the preparation for the delayed Formula E electric vehicle race have been reallocated to help the capital city fight the COVID-19 outbreak.
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A woman walks past a row of closed shops in Pasar Baru, Jakarta, on April 1. (Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)
T
he Jakarta administration has allocated an additional Rp 2 trillion (US$121 million) for COVID-19 countermeasures, increasing the total amount of regional funds earmarked for fighting the disease until May to Rp 3.03 trillion.
Jakarta Financial Management Body (BPKD) head Edy Sumantri said the additional money was allocated from the budget for urgent expenditures, land acquisitions as well as other regional investments, including for the infrastructure development for the now-delayed Formula E electric vehicle race.
“For now, we are adding Rp 2 trillion to overcome the outbreak as well as for social security measures for affected residents,” Edi said in a press statement on Thursday.
He added that Governor Anies Baswedan had issued two gubernatorial regulations in March regarding the regional budget reallocation for COVID-19 matters. The money would be given to various agencies, including the health agency, social affairs agency and the Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD).
Read also: Indonesia’s budget to fight COVID-19: What we know so far
“The Jakarta administration will increase the budget to handle the outbreak if the outbreak cannot be contained by May,” said Edi.
The provincial administration had allocated Rp 54 billion in March to the Jakarta Health Agency for urgent expenditures of handling and preventing the transmission of COVID-19.
The budget reallocation was stipulated in a 2019 gubernatorial regulation, which allowed the administration to allocate funds to regional expenditures for urgent matters outside the control of the regional administration.
Jakarta also reached out to the Social Affairs Ministry, which agreed to provide Rp 1 million to each affected family for two months.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across the capital city has continued to surge, as health authorities had recorded 971 confirmed cases and 90 deaths as of Thursday.
