Tassia Sipahutar, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's plan to overhaul the government's spending system will depend on his ministers and whether or not they have a clear and strong will to direct their subordinates to follow through with the changes.

The overhaul would require a massive "mental revolution" at the ministerial level, economists said.

At a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the President called on ministers to spend taxpayers money based on priority programs rather than simply disburse it to all units.

Jokowi said the new model would revamp the budgeting system implemented across ministries and agencies that for a long time had forced even funding across programs, no matter what their level of priority.

A former furniture businessman, the President said it was time for his ministers to take full control of each ministry budget and to only disburse funds for important projects that were in line with the administration's list of priorities. "Not all divisions need budgets and activities. Don't force it. We have a focus and priorities," he added.

By adhering to the priorities, the government expects to see significant improvement in overall state-budget absorption, spending quality and achievement of target. The government, however, realizes implementation of the new model may not be as easy as falling off a log.

Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said the officials' compliance would largely depend on each minister's leadership. "The ministers should stress what they want [from subordinates] because we have only have a limited budget," he said on Thursday.

The government has not come up with a detailed 2017 state budget, but funding constraints have always been a major issue for the state budget.

Funding is now more of a challenge as the government pursues massive infrastructure plans, especially because tax revenue – the main source of funding – has remained low.

Last year, for instance, the government only managed to reap Rp 1.06 quadrillion (US$79.35 billion) in tax revenue, 82 percent of its target. The remaining funding needs were met from loans, both domestic and from overseas.

Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution even acknowledged that implementation of the new model would require a whole new attitude and that the ministers would face "a real test" if resistance emerged from their subordinates.

Industry Minister Saleh Husin said he would stick to existing programs for the new model, while Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry secretary-general Teguh Pamudji said his focus remained on providing infrastructure to support the country's energy sector.

Separately, Maybank Indonesia chief economist Juniman and Bank Danamon economist Anton Hendranata said they were certain the new model would trigger opposition – as was the usual when changes took place.

Juniman suggested the government first evaluate existing programs before launching the new spending model for the 2017 state budget, citing similarities or overlaps in various ministries' projects.

Anton, meanwhile, said ministers with strong goodwill could sway their staff toward changing their work focus and eventually push for higher budget absorption. "Money that the government generates from the economy [tax revenue] must be pumped back into the economy." (rbk)

[Raras Cahyafitri and Stefani Ribka contributed to the story.]

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/12/fate-spending-overhaul-rests-with-ministers.html