Govt pours trillions in poverty program<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Prior to its fuel price hike plan in April, which will eventually
\nreduce budget expenditures for the fuel subsidy, the government
\nhas been preparing an additional Rp 10.5 trillion (US$1.13
\nbillion) from the budget to assist the poor.<\/p>\n
\"The Rp 10.5 trillion fund will be added to the Rp 7.3
\ntrillion already allocated for poverty programs in the 2005 state
\nbudget,\" Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie
\nannounced on Friday after a Cabinet meeting.<\/p>\n
The fund, a new item in the budget this year, is aimed at
\neasing the impact of the fuel hike for low-income families and
\nwill total Rp 17.8 trillion, of which the largest portions will
\nbe for education, the provision of rice and the construction of
\nrural infrastructure.<\/p>\n
Aburizal corrected his own statement, saying that the fuel
\nprice hike would be on April 1 instead of April 15 as he had said
\non Thursday.<\/p>\n
Vice President Jusuf Kalla had said earlier that the
\ngovernment would make a decision on the amount of the fuel price
\nhike in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n
Regarding the world oil price that surged to more than US$40
\nper barrel, State Minister of National Development Planning Sri
\nMulyani Indrawati said the government must allocate Rp 58
\ntrillion for the oil subsidy.<\/p>\n
She said the government would revise the 2005 state budget by
\nmid March or early April, adding that the decrease in the fuel
\nsubsidy and resulting price rise would have a direct impact of
\nbetween 1 percent and 2 percent on the wallets of the poor.<\/p>\n
Previously, the Central Statistics Agency had warned that the
\nfuel price hike would affect the national inflation rate and
\nprices for commodities were likely to increase before the hike.<\/p>\n
Responding to the matter, economist Faisal Basri of the
\nUniversity of Indonesia offered several schemes in which the
\ngovernment could minimize the social impact.<\/p>\n
\"About 70 percent of the fuel subsidy has been enjoyed by the
\nrich. The government was supposedly using the Rp 60 trillion fuel
\nsubsidy to help the poor,\" he said in a discussion with
\njournalists.<\/p>\n
Faisal reminded the government that the fuel price hike should
\nnot trigger the increase of electricity prices in the country.<\/p>\n
\"The government should immediately convert the use of diesel
\nfuel to natural gas in an effort to cut operational costs,\" he
\nsaid, referring to the diesel-powered generators used to produce
\nelectricity.<\/p>\n
He also said the price of public transportation should not be
\nraised by much.<\/p>\n
Earlier on Friday, Minister of Transportation Hatta Radjasa
\nsaid there would not be any increase in prices for inter-city
\nland transportation if the government does not increase fuel
\nprice by more than 20 percent.<\/p>\n
Faisal also offered another option in which the government
\nshould have implemented and provided the fund for the poor first
\nbefore increasing prices, while adding that housing, food and
\ntransportation for the poor should have been made top priorities.<\/p>\n
Another speaker Enceng Shobirin of the Institute of Research,
\nEducation and Information of Social and Economic Affairs (LP3ES)
\nemphasized the need for transparency in the use of the money for
\nthe poor.<\/p>\n
I-box<\/p>\n
Low-income assistance fund<\/p>\n
Scholarships for 9.6 million students Rp 5.64 trillion
\nRice for 8.6 million poor people Rp 5.44 trillion
\nInfrastructure development in 26,737 villages Rp 3 trillion
\nHealth services for 36.1 million poor people Rp 2.17 trillion
\nProvision of 225,000 low-cost houses Rp 0.6 trillion
\nSubsidy for family planning program Rp 0.1 trillion
\nSubsidy for microcredit interest Rp 0.2 trillion
\nSocial services Rp 0.65 trillion<\/p>\n
Total Rp 17.80 trillion<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-pours-trillions-in-poverty-program-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }