{
  "id": 649012,
  "title": "There Is Still Money That Has Not Been Spent",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/12/there-is-still-money-that-has-not-been-spent",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-12T09:15:24.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Tempo.co English",
    "slug": "tempo-co-english",
    "url": "https://en.tempo.co/read/2117331/there-is-still-money-that-has-not-been-spent"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa announced plans to disburse assistance to regional governments on Tuesday, August 5, 2026. The funding of Rp20.5 trillion (approximately US$1.15 billion) will address personnel budget shortfalls faced by 497 regions. This move comes in response to complaints from regional heads regarding the inability to meet civil service payroll obligations.\n\nThe allocation was approved following a request from the Home Affairs Ministry for local governments to submit data on those unable to pay civil servant salaries. On Wednesday, August 5, Purbaya discussed the assistance with Dony Oskaria, Chief of the State-Owned Enterprises Management Agency, and other journalists based at the Finance Ministry in Central Jakarta.\n\nPurbaya informed journalists that the assistance is expected to be disbursed by the end of this week or no later than next week, as there is a process that needs to be completed. The goal of the assistance is to enable local governments to pay the salaries of civil servants, including those under employment agreements (PPPK), thereby improving their financial conditions.",
  "summary": "Finance Minister Purbaya speaks out about the fiscal strain facing regional governments. The central government will provide assistance.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}