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View all search resultsGovernment to inject $210 million into 2022 disaster pooled fund
The $209.7 million injection for the disaster pooled fund (PFB) is to be sourced from the 2022 state capital injection budget totaling Rp 182.32 trillion, and is intended for speedier disbursement of emergency funds for disaster relief and recovery.
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T
he government plans to inject Rp 3 trillion (US$209.7 million) into next year’s disaster pooled fund (PFB), under the Environmental Fund Management Agency (BPDLH), to brace the country against future disasters like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis,
The latest injection is the second since the initial injection of Rp 7.3 trillion in August, sourced from state and regional budgets.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Wednesday that the injection would allow disaster relief programs to commence without the need to wait for disbursements from the state budget, which would cost valuable time in an emergency.
“We will continue to increase [the PFB]. If any area is affected by a disaster, waiting for [emergency fund disbursements] from the state budget will be unnecessary,” Sri Mulyani told lawmakers in a meeting at the House of Representatives.
Read also: 'No warning': East Java village caught off guard in Semeru disaster
Two major disasters hit the country in early December.
The first was the Dec. 4 eruption of Mount Semeru in Lumajang, East Java, which reportedly killed at least 48 people. The second was the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that occurred in the Flores Sea to the north of East Nusa Tenggara, which prompted the national weather agency to issue a tsunami warning.
Natural disasters are a common occurrence in Indonesia, as it sits on the Ring of Fire, “the most seismically and volcanically active zone in the world”, according to the United States Geological Survey.
According to Finance Ministry data, losses incurred by natural disasters have exceeded the state budget allocation for disaster relief and recovery.
The Rp 3 trillion injection for the PFB is part of the Rp 182.32 trillion in state capital injections planned for 2022.
The PFB allows for faster disbursement than the disbursement of emergency funds from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), which also come from the state budget.
Read also: Govt launches natural disaster fund
Presidential Regulation No. 75/2021 on the joint fund for disaster management, issued on Aug. 13, provides the legal basis for the PFB.
Fiscal Policy Agency head Febrio Kacaribu said in a statement in August that the government would keep growing the PFB through reinvestments and injections.
“The PFB is a milestone in Indonesia’s disaster risk management, because it improves the capacity for disaster risk financing, especially disaster mitigation and risk transfer,” he said.
