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Govt to spend $37b stimulus by year end through new programs, simpler bureaucracy
The new stimulus programs range from a continuation of existing programs such as fund placement in banks, electricity discounts and the Family Hope program, as well as new programs intended to spur economic growth and boost people’s purchasing power, according to Finance Minister Sri Mulyani on Monday.
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Rupiah banknotes (Shutterstock.com/Maciej Matlak)
T
he government is looking to disburse Rp 534.98 trillion (US$37.04 billion) in COVID-19 stimulus funding in the remaining months of the year, through proposed new programs and streamlined bureaucracy in an attempt to rescue the pandemic-hit economy.
The new stimulus programs range from a continuation of existing programs such as fund placement in banks, electricity discounts and the Family Hope program, as well as new programs intended to spur economic growth and boost people’s purchasing power, according to Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati on Monday.
The new proposed stimulus programs, totaling Rp 126.2 trillion, will be financed from reserves and budget reallocations from the government’s COVID-19 stimulus package of Rp 695.2 trillion.
“We will redesign the stimulus to maximize its impact and to allow the economy to recover faster, while also simplifying the bureaucratic process,” she told reporters on Monday.
Read also: Govt to expand social aid, incentives to boost household demand, economy
As of Aug. 6, the government had only spent Rp 151.25 trillion of the stimulus budget, five months after the first outbreak in March, Finance Ministry data show. Sri Mulyani attributed the slow spending to complicated bureaucracy and a lack of citizens’ data, among other reasons.
Indonesia’s economy contracted 5.32 percent in the second quarter this year, the first decline in two decades, as all components of economic activities tumbled amid large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
