Government Debt Surge, Before and After Jokowi Becomes President of the Republic of Indonesia

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Government debt in the era of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) swelled again. Quoted from the Ministry of Finance’s latest APBN Kita page or as of February 28, 2022, government debt has reached Rp 7,014.58 trillion.

This debt increased significantly when compared to the position of government debt in the previous month or as of January 31, 2022, which was IDR 6,919.15 trillion.

This means that within a month’s time, the state debt has increased by Rp 95.43 trillion. In addition, the government debt also recorded a new record, namely breaking the level above Rp 7,000 trillion.

With the increase in government debt, the ratio of debt to gross domestic product (GDP) also increased. At the end of January 2022, the debt-to-GDP ratio was 39.63 percent, while at the end of February it increased to 40.17 percent.

Also read: Who Will Pay The Debt of the Jakarta-Bandung High Speed ​​Rail?

According to the State Finance Law, the ratio of debt to GDP must be maintained and must not exceed the limit, which must not exceed 60 percent.

Currently, Indonesia’s debt-to-GDP ratio is in the range of 40 percent which the government claims is still within reasonable and safe limits.

Jokowi’s 2nd term government debt

At the end of 2014 or the transition period, from the government of President Soesilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) to the administration of President Jokowi, the total government debt was recorded at Rp. 2,608.78 trillion with a debt-to-GDP ratio of 24.7 percent.

Government debt in the era of President Jokowi continued to increase, both in the first and second periods of his administration. This means that the increase in debt has indeed occurred long before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Also read: New Record, Jokowi’s Government Debt Now Reaches IDR 7,000 Trillion

Before becoming the President of the Republic of Indonesia ahead of the presidential election contestation, Jokowi’s own campaign team on several occasions made discourses to reduce the amount of government debt.

But instead of decreasing, government debt continues to increase. Even in the period 2014 to 2019 or the first period, the government has printed a new debt of Rp 4,016 trillion.

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