President Prabowo Subianto has given special instructions to Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati to slash ceremonial activities and overseas trips from each ministerial budget in order to save the State Budget.
The president assessed that so far too much of the budget has been used for activities that do not provide added value to the economy.
“I ask the Minister of Finance, all Coordinating Ministers, all ministers to re-examine the State Budget (APBN) allocation. Please study the DIPA (Budget Implementation List) again and again,” Prabowo told the first Cabinet Meeting at the State Palace on Wednesday, October 23, 2024.
“I ask for details of activities that are too ceremonial, too many seminars, too many discussions, too many conferences, too many overseas trips, please reduce them,” he added.
Prabowo emphasized that his government must be pro-people, so activities that do not have an impact on the wider community must be eliminated.
He cited official trips related to comparative studies areconsidered unimportant.
“We must set an example. Our focus is on economic development, people’s welfare. Don’t make things up. I want efficiency,” Prabowo said.
Sri Mulyani responded that there would be a restructuring of the work plan for the budget of state ministries/institutions (RKAKL) and the budget implementation list (DIPA).
“With the changes and the establishment of newministries/institutions, it is necessary to restructure the RKAKL and DIPA for the remaining 2024 and 2025 budget years,” Sri Mulyani said on her Instagram page as quoted on Wednesday.
“We are putting all efforts so that various programs of the president and the vice president can run immediately while maintaining the principles of good governance,” she underlined.
