JAKARTA (TheInsiderStories) - Indonesia President Joko Widodo wants the government programs to run faster in 2016 after building a solid foundation throughout 2015, by cutting the fuel subsidy and diverted the subsidy to programs that benefit the people, accelerate the infrastructure development and change the course of the development to an Indonesia-centric, not Java-centric.
“The trust already exists, investments are ready to come in, while Rupiah exchange rate is also stable. It is up to us to to make this opportunity into a goal or not, ” the President said opening a Cabinet plenary session at the Presidential Office.
He expects officials at every level to be on the same page on the importance to develop the country’s infrastructure and swiftly do all they can to support the program once it is in the pipeline, saying that he would not tolerate excuses such as blaming inter-agency red tape.
President appreciates some ministries and institution which have implemented the pre-auction of projects (DIPA), such as the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing which has been auctioning 42 percent of its projects, Mineral Resources Ministry 34 percent and the Ministry of Transportation 31 percent.
In the meeting, the President also asked ministers to allocate funds from the State Budget in order to accelerate the realization of the budget at the beginning of 2016 to maintain the momentum of economic growth, which is targeted to grow by 5.3 percent next year.
“I also have to say this to the Governors, Regents and Mayors that 37 percent of the Budget allocated to regional governments should also be realized. I also ask the Minister of Finance to provide data on the amount of funds parked in the regional banks,” he said, adding that he wants the programs would stimulate creation of labor-intensive jobs.
Reduce Inequality
On that occasion, President reminded the ministers and heads of agencies to focus on five key indicators, namely economic growth, controlling inflation, poverty reduction, unemployment and an issue of economic disparity or inequality.
With regard to the entry into the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in early 2016, President requested that the AEC should be seen as an opportunity and also a challenge at the same time.
President asked Minister for State Own Enterprises Rini Soemarno to step up and strengthen the competitiveness of the nation’s industries, strengthening the competitiveness of SMEs and boost exports.
He also asked his ministers to pay attention on the rice price which has been the highest contributor to the inflation rate, about 30 percent compared with non-rice category. He asked relevant officials to take steps to stabilize food price as this would be a matter of poverty reduction.
At the same occasion, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Darmin Nasution said that the President has asked ministers to examine the budget allocations and assure that the budget allocations are clear.
With regard to the village fund, said Darmin Nasution, the President reminds that in the future there should be transparency in every village funds usage. Therefore, people also oversee how the funds are used.
Cabinet Reshuffle
Recently, President has sent a strong signal to reshuffle his cabinet as part of his strategy to achieve his five-year program of “Nawa Cita”, especially in 2016. President has given a strong indication that cabinet reshuffle could happen early next year.
He has expressed his disappointment that some ministers have failed to get key projects off the ground like road projects in Sumatra and Papua and a planned railway line in Sulawesi in a bid to slash shipping costs and boost economic activities in underdeveloped regions.
The President said he will give the ministers one and a half month to realize the projects. “If [the projects] are not [off the ground] by then, they will be given a red mark. The solution would be a reshuffle. Replace [the ministers]. It is that simple,” the President said as quoted by Tempo.