22-2-2024 (JAKARTA) President Prabowo’s newly inaugurated administration in Indonesia faces scrutiny as it unveils plans for a comprehensive school meal program. On Wednesday (February 21), Prabowo’s team highlighted that the initiative to provide free lunches and milk to schools could incur an estimated cost of up to 120 trillion Indonesian rupiah (approximately S$10.32 billion) in the inaugural year.
This ambitious proposal, aimed at delivering free meals to 82.9 million children, has been a flagship campaign promise of President Prabowo. However, concerns are rising over the substantial financial implications of the plan, which could potentially jeopardize Indonesia’s reputation for fiscal discipline, as reported by Reuters.
While Prabowo’s team envisions the full implementation of the program extending until 2029, with an estimated total cost of 450 trillion rupiah, Budiman, a senior member of Prabowo’s expert team, clarified that the initial year’s expenses are projected to be between 100 trillion and 120 trillion rupiah. Unfortunately, specific details regarding the breakdown of these costs were not provided.
The proposed program entails a substantial requirement of resources, with estimates indicating the need for 6.7 million tons of rice, 1.2 million tons of chicken, 500,000 tons of beef, 1 million tons of fish, 4 million kilograms of milk, as well as vegetables and fruits annually by 2029. The current program design emphasizes collaboration with farmer cooperatives and small businesses, which Budiman suggests could contribute to potential cost reductions.
Investors are closely monitoring the intricacies of the plan as it unfolds. During a routine investor call on Wednesday, Bank Indonesia Governor Perry addressed concerns about the government’s expansionary fiscal plan. Perry emphasized that the law, preventing Indonesia’s annual fiscal deficit from surpassing 3% of GDP, serves as a safeguard to ensure responsible fiscal policy management.
