Govt urged to account for delay in reform program
Govt urged to account for delay in reform program
JAKARTA (JP): The President's National Economic Council urged
the government on Tuesday to provide a full account of any delays
in implementing the reform measures agreed to with the
International Monetary Fund.
"We remain confident the targets of the reform measures will
still be fulfilled by their deadlines. But if any of them fall
behind schedule, the government should account for it to the
people," council chairman Emil Salim said.
Emil was speaking after meeting with President Abdurrahman
Wahid, who, despite the national holiday for the Hindu Day of
Silence, had a busy schedule with several meetings.
The IMF announced recently it would delay the disbursement of
US$400 million in loans to Indonesia until mid-May due to the
government's failure to complete the agreed reform measures by
the March 31 deadline, as stipulated in the government's Letter
of Intent to the IMF Executive Board on Jan. 20.
The President, apparently surprised by the delay, ordered his
ministers to complete the programs by the middle of this month at
the latest.
Emil said the delay in implementing several reform programs
was caused by the finance minister's preoccupation with preparing
the 2000 state budget.
"But we believe that even if the finance minister was so
engrossed with the budget preparations, other Cabinet ministers
should have accomplished their tasks on schedule," he said.
President Abdurrahman, according to Emil, is fully committed
to fulfilling all the reform measures as stipulated in the Letter
of Intent.
"We hope the government will stick to the new schedule set for
the reform measures, which should have been implemented by the
end of last month," Emil said.
Asked about the impact of postponing the increase in fuel
prices from the original date of April 1, which will result in a
larger amount of subsidy spending, Emil said the government
should review its operating budget plan.
Also attending the meeting with the President on Tuesday were
a number of other council members, including Sri Mulyani
Indrawati, Bambang Subianto and Gunarni Soeworo.