Jokowi's Disappointment Over Misuse of Regional Funds: How Much Was Transferred from the National Budget?

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) expressed disappointment over the use of regional budgets, deeming them inappropriate.

According to CNN Indonesia, Jokowi mentioned a local government, without naming it, that spent 80% of its budget on non-concrete activities, such as meetings and official trips.

He stated that the use of funds should shift from a procedure-oriented to a results-oriented approach for optimal spending.

"If we reverse it, 80% (for concrete activities), 20% for meetings. The APBN and APBD budgets will be productive," Jokowi said at the 2023 National Meeting on Internal Government Supervision in Jakarta on Wednesday (June 14, 2023).

Regional funds come from the Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBD). This can be contributed by local original revenue (PAD). However, the main source, approximately 68%, comes from the transfer to regions (TKD) from the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN).

So, what is the latest amount of TKD as of April 2023?

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani detailed that the realization of TKD in April 2023 was Rp243.1 trillion. This figure increased slightly by 0.3% year-on-year (yoy) from Rp242.4 trillion in April 2022.

The components of TKD are diverse. The largest is the disbursement of general allocation funds (DAU) amounting to Rp134 trillion in April 2023. This figure decreased from the previous achievement of Rp154.43 trillion.

Ani, her nickname, stated that the low DAU is because the disbursement is determined by the first-stage usage, which is only 30%.

"And several local governments are preparing plans for DAU usage determination," Ani said in a press conference presentation on *APBN KITA* in May 2023 on the Ministry of Finance's YouTube channel, Monday (May 22, 2023).

(See also: Realization of APBD Spending in April 2023 Slows in Many Sectors, What is the Cause?)

Then there are non-physical special allocation funds (DAK NF) amounting to Rp49.28 trillion. This achievement increased from the previous Rp39.6 trillion in April 2022.

Revenue sharing funds (DBH) are also quite high, at Rp35.76 trillion. This achievement increased significantly from the previous period of Rp18.32 trillion in April 2022.

Next, there are village funds amounting to Rp20.51 trillion. This disbursement decreased from the previous period of Rp22.29 trillion in April 2022.

"Village funds are lower due to a decrease in village BLT recipients from 6.12 million in 2022 to 2.04 million people, or a decrease of 66.6%," said Ani.

Here is a breakdown of TKD disbursement in April 2023:

* General Allocation Funds (DAU)
* April 2023: Rp134,589,000,000,000
* April 2022: Rp154,439,000,000,000

* Non-Physical Special Allocation Funds (DAK NF)
* April 2023: Rp49,285,000,000,000
* April 2022: Rp39,609,000,000,000

* Revenue Sharing Funds (DBH)
* April 2023: Rp35,767,000,000,000
* April 2022: Rp18,322,000,000,000

* Village Funds
* April 2023: Rp20,516,000,000,000
* April 2022: Rp22,298,000,000,000

* Special Autonomy (Otsus)
* April 2023: Rp1,188,000,000,000
* April 2022: Rp6,131,000,000,000

* Physical Special Allocation Funds (DAK Fisik)
* April 2023: Rp744,000,000,000
* April 2022: Rp777,000,000,000

* Fiscal Incentives
* April 2023: Rp516,000,000,000
* April 2022: Rp656,000,000,000

* Grants
* April 2023: Rp307,000,000,000
* April 2022: -

* Special Funds (DIY)
* April 2023: Rp166,000,000,000
* April 2022: Rp198,000,000,000

(See also: State Revenue Reaches Rp1 Quadrillion in April 2023, Surplus Rp234.7 Trillion)