CIDISS. President Ahmad Erani Yustika’s Special Staff responded to the statement of the Chairperson of the People’s Consultative Assembly or the MPR, Zulkifli Hasan regarding government debt. In a speech at the opening of the 2018 MPR Plenary Session, Zulkifli Hasan flicked the government of President Joko Widodo or Jokowi – Jusuf Kalla. Zulkifli Hasan said there were three economic issues that needed a policy breakthrough from the government, one of which was about debt.
The Chairperson of the National Mandate Party said the government could not declare government debt safe with a debt ratio of 30 percent. The thing that really needs to be observed is the amount of government debt repayment costs that reach no less than Rp. 400 trillion in 2018. This amount, said Zulkifli Hasan is equivalent to seven times the funds given to villages throughout Indonesia or six times the health budget of all Indonesians.
Furthermore, Erani said that the principal installments were compared to the village funds six times, in which next year’s village funds were Rp 73 trillion. This amount, said Erani, is far different from 2014. In 2014 the budget for the village or the National Community Empowerment Program Mandiri (PNPM) total budget of Rp. 9.7 trillion.
Erani described data from the Ministry of Finance. In 2014 PNPM amounted to Rp. 9.7 trillion, while in 2019 the Village Fund was Rp. 73 trillion. Withdrawal of the 2014 new debt of 256 trillion, in 2019 Rp. 359 trillion. The withdrawal of new debt compared to PNPM, which is 26 times, while the withdrawal of new debt compared to the Village Fund, which is 5 times. Debt installments compared to PNPM in 2014 were 24 times, while debt installments compared to Village Funds in 2019, which is 6 times.
Meanwhile, Deputy Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency or Fitra Misbah Hasan considered the government needed to put a brake on debt. According to Misbah, if added with new debt, the budget posture will be heavy. We recommend braking the debt, because the debt burden from the previous period was already very high. When added to the new debt made by the government now, I am sure that the budget posture will be even heavier. Misbah added that the debt due in 2019 would burden the posture of the state budget or state budget. He believes the government is able to pay debts if added, even though it is risky.
Even so, said Sri Mulyani, Indonesia’s Minister of Finance, the government guarantees that it will continue to try to keep the debt ratio at below 30 percent of gross domestic product or GDP.
In responding to this situation, it was associated with President Jokowi’s statement that debt was only for productive financing. This means that the debt proposed by Indonesia to the World Bank is certainly a source of financing for productive activities which in the future will produce multiple effects on Indonesia’s income. Even though in the early stages of development, Indonesia needed considerable funds as capital for the development of economic infrastructure. Therefore, it is expected that the debt ratio remains ideal for Indonesia’s GDP and that the economic infrastructure built can support the national economy.
By: Moch. Irfandi *)
