Soeharto launches savings drive

Soeharto launches savings drive

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto yesterday urged the public,
including students, to save more money so the country could
lessen its dependence on foreign aid to finance its development
programs.

When launching the national savings campaign here, Soeharto
asserted that foreign aid, which must gradually be reduced, is
only supplementary to the development financing.

"Up to now we are still receiving foreign aid to finance our
development," Soeharto said. "But from the beginning, we have
been determined that in the end we must shoulder all the
financial burdens of development ourselves."

With foreign debts of $100 billion, Indonesia is one of the
largest debtor countries in the world. Last July, donor countries
and development agencies pledged Indonesia $5.36 billion in aid,
up from $5.2 billion in 1994.

As Indonesia is entering the group of middle-income countries,
it can no longer tap more offshore soft loans, Soeharto said.
Yet, Indonesia needs more funds for its development programs.

In his state address before the House of Representatives last
month, Soeharto raised the target of investment needed during the
current five-year development plan period, ended in March 1999,
to Rp 815 trillion ($360 billion) from the original target of Rp
660 trillion.

Soeharto said that to be more independent in development
financing, the government has to raise more funds from domestic
resources. The state must have the savings to finance
development, and these public savings have to increase from time
to time.

He noted that public savings held by Indonesian banks stood at
Rp 183 trillion (US$80.9 billion) as of last June, as compared to
Rp 522 billion as of 1971.

To boost public savings, Soeharto called on teachers and
parents to promote saving money among children so that it will
become an inherent part of the nations' culture.

Soeharto assured that the government would continue to develop
a healthy and strong banking system and keep inflation low.
Besides that, the government will continue its prudent macro-
economic policies to maintain a stable economy and to encourage
domestic savings. (rid)