Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian government has proposed state spending of Rp2,708.7 trillion in the 2022 State Budget Bill, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has said.
"(The Bill proposes) central government expenditure of Rp1,938.3 trillion and transfers to the regions and village funds of Rp770.4 trillion," Widodo said in his speech on the state budget for the 2022 fiscal year at the Parliamentary Complex in Jakarta on Monday.
The health budget is proposed at Rp255.3 trillion, or 9.4 percent of the state expenditure, he informed.
The budget will be aimed at continuing the handling of the pandemic, reforming the healthcare system, accelerating efforts for reducing stunting in children, and continuing the National Health Insurance program, Jokowi said.
In COVID-19 handling efforts, the government is focusing on anticipating the risk of COVID-19 impact through testing, tracing, and treatment efforts; continuing the vaccination drive; and, intensifying efforts to disseminate information on health protocols and their supervision, he added.
"We have to be able to utilize this pandemic as a momentum to improve and reform the Indonesian health system. We must become capable of encouraging domestic vaccine production and the development of a strong and competitive pharmaceutical industry," the President stressed.
"We also have to reorganize the health service facilities from upstream to downstream, and from central to regional levels; transform primary care and referral care; improve health security; improve the quality of health workers and redistribute them; and, develop information technology for health services," he noted.
The government is also maintaining the continuity of the National Health Insurance program and ensuring improvement in the quality of services offered under the program, he said.
Furthermore, efforts have been accelerated to reduce stunting in children by expanding the reach of all regencies/municipalities across Indonesia and strengthening synergies among institutions, the President disclosed.
In 2022, as much as Rp427.5 trillion in the social protection budget will be allocated for helping the poor and vulnerable in fulfilling their basic needs. This move is expected to cut the poverty chain in the long term, he explained.
To improve the productivity and quality of human resources, a total of Rp541.7 trillion is proposed to be set aside in the education budget, Jokowi said.
"The development of human resources continues to be our priority agenda. Indonesia must be able to make the most of the demographic dividend and stand ready to face technological disruption," he added.
"We must prepare productive, innovative, and globally competitive human resources while still practicing values of the state ideology Pancasila, observing good deeds, and preserving national cultural identity," the President said.
Meanwhile, a total of Rp384.8 trillion is proposed to be allocated for infrastructure development in the 2022 budget, he revealed.
Infrastructure development is needed to support the strengthening of basic need provision; support increased productivity through connectivity and mobility infrastructure; provide energy and food infrastructure that is affordable, reliable, and environmentally friendly; and ensure equal distribution of Information and Communication Technology infrastructure and access, he explained.
"Various policies on state expenditures, as a whole, are expected to push for the realization of development targets for 2022, namely, an open unemployment rate of 5.5 to 6.3 percent; poverty rate in the range of 8.5 to 9.0 percent, with an emphasis on eliminating extreme poverty; and, Gini ratio in the range of 0.376 to 0.378; as well as human development index ranging from 73.41 to 73.46," the President said.
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