Indonesia Allots Rp5 Trillion to Address Disasters
The Indonesian government, in principle, stands ready to raise the budget for disaster management.
Indonesia's Finance Minister, Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, has allocated Rp5 trillion for disaster management, with a focus on combatting forest fires through the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB). The government is prepared to increase this budget if the spending for wildfire management escalates. Purbaya stated that if the allocated amount proves insufficient, further funds will be added later.
However, the BNPB has yet to submit the total budget requirement for forest fire management to the Ministry of Finance. This request is submitted to the Ministry of Finance, which will subsequently adjust the support based on the ground reality.
Purbaya indicated that the Indonesian government is open to raising the disaster management budget, but the exact amount depends on the BNPB's operational needs for wildfire handling. He emphasized that the required budget for forest fire management is not anticipated to be as massive as the budget needed to address the disaster in Aceh, which was much larger in scale.
Purbaya explained that the government is providing special treatment for the disaster management budget due to its significance for public safety and interests. Nonetheless, he cautioned against misuse or unreasonable increases in the disaster management budget. He stressed that the management of the disaster budget requires a distinct approach compared to general government spending, as it directly impacts public safety.
Written by urgent.news from Tempo.co English's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
