Planned bill to secure Bappenas' legal authority<\/p>\n
Dadan Wijaksana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) plans to draft
\na bill on economic development that will allow it to retain its
\nrole in drawing up the country's short and medium-term
\ndevelopment programs, including the annual state budget.<\/p>\n
The plan was divulged by State Minister for National
\nDevelopment Planning\/Bappenas chairman Kwik Kian Gie on
\nWednesday, during a meeting with House of Representatives
\nCommission IX for state financial affairs.<\/p>\n
Legislators voiced support for the plan, saying the bill, when
\npassed into law, would provide a strong legal basis for the
\ncontinued existence of Bappenas.<\/p>\n
\"We agree on the importance of a stronger legal basis, in the
\nform of a law, for the national development planning system,\" the
\nchairman of Commission IX, Max Moein, said following the hearing
\nwith Bappenas.<\/p>\n
The recent enactment of the state finance law created
\nuncertainty over the fate of Bappenas. According to this new law,
\nBappenas would no longer play an active role in drawing up the
\ngovernment's annual state budget, with the finance ministry
\ntaking complete control over drafting the budget.<\/p>\n
The state finance law also stipulates that Propenas, a five-
\nyear development program prepared by Bappenas, which in the past
\nhas been used as the main reference point for drafting the state
\nbudget, is no longer suitable or realistic within today's fast-
\nchanging economic framework.<\/p>\n
According to the state finance law, the Propenas would be
\nreplaced by a document called the Medium-Term Expenditure
\nFramework (MTEF), which would be an economic guide for a three-
\nyear period.<\/p>\n
This raised speculation that the once-powerful Bappenas would
\neither be dissolved or its role drastically shrunk.<\/p>\n
The state finance law was drafted by the finance ministry and
\nwas approved by a special House committee, which included a
\nnumber of Commission IX lawmakers.<\/p>\n
Sources say President Megawati Soekarnoputri did not sign the
\nlaw, but it has nevertheless come into effect because it has been
\nover a month since it was approved by the House.<\/p>\n
Kwik refused to provide details of the planned law on national
\neconomic development planning, saying that everything was still
\nbeing assessed.<\/p>\n
During the hearing, however, while all of the legislators
\nsupported a continued role for Bappenas, a few of the lawmakers
\nquestioned how the agency could best be utilized in the future.<\/p>\n
One legislator suggested that Bappenas would be much more
\nbeneficial if it became independent instead of being part of the
\ngovernment structure.<\/p>\n
Bappenas, established 40 years ago, in the past, particularly
\nduring the administration of president Soeharto, was a very
\npowerful agency as all key projects had to pass through the
\noffice for approval.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/planned-bill-to-secure-bappenas-legal-authority-1447893297",
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