Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati was again poked about the debt that increased quite a lot during the Covid-19 pandemic. This time it came from the leadership of the DPD RI during a joint working meeting.
“We see an increase in debt that has increased during this pandemic,” said the chairman of the DPD RI meeting, Monday (1/24/2022).
Responding to this, Sri Mulyani said that Indonesia’s debt position during the pandemic was still better than other countries. This is reflected in the budget deficit, which is still maintained in single digits compared to other countries, which has risen to double digits.
“If we compare countries in the world, it can be seen from the economic contraction, speed recovery and in terms of the size of the APBN where the deficit is very measurable, even though the leadership emphasized quite a lot of debt. we are far more measured, even compared to both developed and emerging countries,” Sri Mulyani explained.
As is known, the government’s debt until the end of the year reached Rp 6,908.87 trillion with a debt ratio of 41% to Indonesia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, the deficit is still maintained and lower than predicted with a realization of 4.56% of GDP at the end of 2021.
“We want to emphasize this again and again because I also see almost all statements always see it only on the debt side of our own APBN, as if we are facing a pandemic alone in the world,” he explained.
He hopes that the public and members of the council can see the condition of Indonesia’s debt compared to other countries. Because the challenges caused by this pandemic are also felt by developed countries whose deficits are even higher than Indonesia.
“Even though the whole world is facing the same thing, because this is already in its third year, we can see that our response from the APBN side is very measurable, accountable and effective enough to get attention,” he concluded.
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