Jakarta – Good performance of the state budget succeeded in driving the 2022 economy to grow 5.3 percent compared to the previous year (year-on-year/yoy), far surpassing the 3.7-percent growth in 2021, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati stated.
Good performance of the state budget is apparent from the deficit recorded at only 2.38 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), or Rp464.3 trillion, which came from the realization of state spending of Rp3,090.8 trillion and state revenue of Rp2,626.4 trillion.
“Thank God, even though since 2022, the world economic growth was projected to slow down, the Indonesian economy has recorded very good growth trend consistency,” Sri Mulyani noted in an official statement here on Tuesday.
Amid the escalation of global turmoil in 2022, the role of the state budget, as a shock absorber, remains very crucial.
Supply disruptions due to increased optimism for economic improvement in several developed countries not being followed up with improved production have raised the inflationary pressure.
The minister pointed out that the war in Ukraine also caused supply disruptions, so prices of commodities, particularly food and energy, soared sharply. As a result, several countries face very high inflationary pressures.
Inflation in several developed countries, such as the United States and nations in the European region, logged the highest record in the last four decades.
Global upshot of the impact of high inflation on the domestic side can be reduced by optimizing the function of the state budget as a shock absorber.
The government rolled out the Direct Cash Assistance (BLT) Program for cooking oil, increasing the budget for energy subsidies and compensation, adding BLT to offset rising fuel prices, offering wage subsidy assistance, and strengthening transfer funds to the regions to control inflation.
Thus, Sri Mulyani said domestic inflation is under control at a moderate level, at only 5.5 percent in 2022, so that the public’s purchasing power and the sustainability of economic recovery are maintained.
On the other hand, the effectiveness of policies for handling the COVID-19 pandemic has played a major role in maintaining the sustainability of economic recovery.
Acceleration of vaccination programs and the right approach in implementing social restrictions that are adaptive also effectively control the transmission of COVID-19 while maintaining economic activities, so that faster recovery can be achieved.
Various economic recovery programs through the COVID-19 Handling and National Economic Recovery Program (PC-PEN) supported by accommodative monetary and financial sector policies have provided a major impetus for accelerating national economic recovery in 2022.
Source: Antara News