Govt Allocates Rp433.5 Trillion for Subsidies

Jakarta (Antara) - The government has set aside Rp433.5 trillion in the draft 2015 state budget for subsidy expenditures, stated President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. While delivering a speech on the draft state budget for 2015 and its financial notes in a plenary session of the House of Representatives (DPR) here on Friday, the president noted that the budget of Rp433.5 trillion comprised Rp363.5 trillion energy subsidies and Rp70 trillion non-energy subsidies. "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, he emphasized that in 2015, the government will continue to carry out policies, which were so far adopted, to increase energy efficiency and to prevent subsidies from going off target. He explained that over the past decade, the government had constantly strived to achieve its subsidy targets and had raised the electricity tariffs and subsidized fuel oil prices to a propriety level on several occasions. The government diverted some of the fuel subsidy allocation to the poor and also to finance health care services, he remarked. The president stated that in 2013, the government raised the price of subsidized fuels, and in 2014, it also hiked the electricity tariffs. (*)