By: Zakaria )*
The government is optimistic that the acceleration of economic recovery will be successful because several strategies have been implemented. The public is expected to continue to support various Government policies so that the economic growth target can be achieved immediately.
The Covid-19 virus is very small in size but its impact is huge and happening globally. In addition to having an effect on the health sector, the pandemic situation also has an effect on the economy. At the beginning of 2021, for several months, people’s purchasing power had decreased and the situation became confused because they imagined a gray future.
However, in 2022 we will bounce back and there will be no recession as feared last year. The economy is recovering gradually, and one of the supporting factors is that more and more people are recovering from Corona, and fewer are infected. So that more and more healthy people are eager to work, to move the wheels of the economy back in this country.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani stated that the economic recovery during the pandemic was going faster, and it was estimated that in less than 2 years we could rise again to fix it. Much different from the situation in 1998 when the economic crisis occurred, the recovery took up to 4 years.
Sri Mulyani added that the rapid economic recovery in Indonesia during the pandemic was due to the resilience of the financial sector, the business world, instruments and government policies. So we don’t have to be afraid that the country will go bankrupt and Indonesia’s debt will swell.
Financial resilience is economic resilience from shocks that hit a country. Although the pandemic lasted for almost 2 years, thank God the country’s financial situation is fine. Even though the state budget is widely used to overcome the impact of the pandemic, especially in the health sector. For 1.5 years, GDP aka Indonesia’s gross domestic product returned before the pandemic.
Health and economics are not opposite but are interrelated. When state money is focused on programs to heal people affected by the Corona virus (for example, the cost of hospitalization for Covid patients borne by BPJS), it does not run out immediately. The money is transformed into economic resilience.
When many people recover from Corona because they can stay in the hospital, they are excited to work again. In addition, when no one gets Corona, a factory or office will not be sealed, because everything is healthy and can work 100% from the office again. They will be more productive and diligent in their work, so that the economy will be more advanced.
Accelerating economic growth is the government’s focus. Having previously focused on the health sector and succeeded in reducing the number of Covid patients, from 50,000 to only 500 per day, it’s time to improve the Indonesian economy.
One of the government’s focuses is to increase foreign investment and national strategic project programs. Even though it is still a pandemic, these two things are not frozen, they are actually boosted. The reason is that we need a lot of capital to raise the Indonesian economy again and the way is by investing, thereby increasing the country’s foreign exchange.
National strategic projects also continue even though it is still a pandemic, because the employees also work according to health protocols. In fact, this project is being boosted because it will reduce the unemployment rate in Indonesia, because they need a lot of workers. During the pandemic, many companies had their contracts terminated, and instead they could join in national strategic projects.
The government continues to accelerate the economic recovery due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The community is also expected to be able to support these various programs so that new jobs can be created and the economy will spin optimally again.
)* The author is a citizen/contributor of Citizen Journalism
