Jakarta, Aug 16 (Antara) - The government has projected a fuel subsidy
of Rp291.1 trillion in the Draft 2015 State Budget, up from Rp246.5
trillion in the current Revised 2014 State Budget, anticipating
increasing vehicle numbers and fuel consumption.
In the current revised budget, the government has set subsidized fuels
at 46 million kiloliters, yet it predicts that the stocks of subsidized
fuels based on the quota of 46 million kiloliters will finish by
mid-December, unless consumption restriction is imposed from now.
"The
46 million kiloliters can be used up by mid-December. So, how do we
meet the need for fuel for the remaining two weeks?" Minister of Energy
and Mineral Resources, Jero Wacik, asked when he addressed a press
conference after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono unveiled the
government's Draft 2015 State Budget (RAPBN 2015), Friday.
The President unveiled the government's budget plan for 2015 totaling
Rp2,019.9 trillion, of which Rp1,379.9 trillion was projected for the
central government's spending and Rp640 trillion for transfer to
regional governments and for village funding.
The government set aside Rp433.5 trillion of the expenditures in the
draft 2015 state budget for subsidies. The budget of Rp433.5 trillion
subsidies comprised Rp363.5 trillion energy subsidies and Rp70 trillion
non-energy subsidies, Yudhoyono noted.
Of the energy subsidies which totaled Rp363.5 trillion for next year,
Rp291.1 trillion is allocated to fuel with a projected quota volume of
48 million kiloliters. Next year¿s quota is higher than the current
revised quota of 46 million kiloliters.
Actually, next year's subsidy quota of 48 million kiloliters is the
same as the previous quota for this year, which has been revised down to
46 million kiloliters to alleviate the state budget burden.
The decision to raise the subsidized fuel quota from 46 million
kiloliters in the current revised budget to 48 million kiloliters in the
draft 2015 state budget was taken after matured calculations phases
based on the potential consumption of the Indonesian people, minister
Jero Wacik said.
The
minister did not agree with the view that the quota of 48 million
kiloliters with a subsidy of Rp291.1 trillion would burden the next
government. The current government will complete its tenure next October
20, 2014.
So, the draft 2015 state budget will be implemented by the next
government under President-elect Joko Widodo, if he wins the
presidential dispute now being dealt with at the Constitutional Court
(MK).
"We have made the recommendation and projected subsidized fuels at 48
million kiloliters. We return to the figure of the previous quota of 48
million kiloliters because we predicted that there would be an increase
in the number of vehicles next year," Minister Jero Wacik noted.
Car sales every year reach around 1.2 million while that of motorcycles
is recorded at 8 million units. "This growth is a blessing but at the
same time a problem. We need to handle this with mature studies and
allocate subsidized fuel quota," the minister pointed out.
If
the subsidized fuel quota is set at less than 48 million kiloliters
like in the revised 2014 state budget, the people would not get
subsidized fuel in December, he said.
However,
the next government, which will begin its tenure after it is installed
in October, will face the heavy burden of controlling subsidized fuel
consumption, the minister admitted.
Therefore, he reminded the next government of the heavy duty.
"This
is the impact of the growth in the people's economy. The number of cars
is increasing and so are motorcycles," remarked Jero Wacik.
The subsidized quota of 48 million kiloliters in the draft 2015 state
budget was basically set as a baseline which provided room for the next
government to make changes, he admitted.
President Yudhoyono, when unveiling the budget plan said the Draft 2015
State Budget provided space for the new government to improve and
implement new programs.
The state budget of the State Ministry and the State Budget Agency in
2015 was only a baseline. The main substance of the Draft 2015 State
Budget takes into account only the basic necessities of governance and
service to the community, the president said.
"I hope this measure can provide a broad space for the new government
in its effort to implement the planned programs," Yudhoyono explained.
In the meantime, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR)
Pramono Anung said the policy to control subsidized fuels actually
serves as a short-term solution and the government needs to find a
long-term solution.
"The government's effort to control and to restrict subsidized fuel
consumption is only a short-term solution," stated Pramono Anung.
Subsidy allocation for fuels is still big reaching 17.84 percent of the
budget allocation for the central government's expenditures. "The big
subsidy has implication which burdens the state budget in creating a
prosperous and just Indonesia," he reminded.
So far, the fuel subsidy policy has been seen as unfair as it is often
off target because most of it is enjoyed by people of the upper classes.
In his speech on the state budget on Friday, President Yudhoyono
admitted that subsidized fuels quota was enjoyed more by non-target
consumers.
"The government is aware of the fact that some of the subsidies, which
should be provided for the needy, are still enjoyed by people who are
economically sound," the head of state pointed out.
Therefore, in 2015, the government should continue to carry out
policies, which had been adopted till now, to increase energy efficiency
and to prevent subsidies from going off target, he emphasized.
Over the past decade, the government had constantly attempted to
achieve its subsidy targets and had raised electricity tariffs and
subsidized fuel oil prices to a propriety level on several occasions, he
explained.
The government diverted some of the fuel subsidy allocation to the poor
and also to finance health care services, he remarked.
Therefore, the government should now seek long-term solutions that
could be reached in stages such as accelerating the development of
alternate energies, Pramono suggested. ***2***
(T.A014/a014)
(INE)
EDITED BY INE
(T.A014/A/BESSR/A. Abdussalam) 16-08-2014 17: |
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