Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Cabinet Secretary (Seskab) Pramono Anung reported, up until June 8, the usage of Cabinet Secretariat budget is noted to have reached 90,986,013,136 rupiahs or approximately 40,48 percent.

On the official page of Cabinet Secretariat, setkab.go.id, Pramono Anung stated in Jakarta, Thursday that total allocated budget exclusively for the secretariat in the 2016 state budget is 222,786,973 rupiahs.

However, the Seskab thinks that in order to follow up with the Presidents Instruction number 4, 2016 regarding the steps to cut down institutional purchases, he saved about 6 percent from the original 13.9 percent target.

"The secretariat have conveyed to the Finance Minister that we could only save 13.374.271.000 rupiahs or about 6 percent. Cabinet secretariat functions are all planned and measured, in order to support the President along with the Vice President, and to take care of any issues involving the cabinet management," said Anung.

He had just attended a work meeting with Commission II of the Indonesian House of Representatives, led by Rambe Kamarul Zaman, in the Commission II meeting room in the House of Representatives building, Jakarta, Thursday.

A member of Commission II of the National Mandate Party (PAN) fraction in the House of Representatives, Yandri Susanto, expressed his support for the Cabinet Secretariat budget to remain the same, without any budget cuts, so they can continue to provide maximum services.

"The services should always be maximized, because we are serving the people," he said.

Susanto noted, at 40 percent, the budget usage in 2016 is good enough. He is hoping that by the end of the year, it can rise up to 80 percent.

Seskab Pramono Anung have previously delivered the results of Audit Board of Indonesia (BPK)s investigation results against the secretariat financial report in 2015, which was composed and prepared in line with Government Regulations number 71, 2010 about the Governments Accounting Standards.

"Thank God, in 2015 we once again received a Casual Without Exceptions (WTP) feedback, as we also received the year prior," said Pramono.

He further said that absorption of funds last year was 145.471.665.983 rupiahs, which is 73.8 percent from the total budget of 197.103.291.000 rupiahs.

Pramono explained that the diminished absorption of funds in 2015 was due to the allocated budget for the formation of a special envoy of the President, Presidential Special Staff and Vice-Presidential Special Staff, which was vacant up until the end of 2015.

It was also caused by the saving of use of facilities and infrastructures, as well as the limitation to work activity trip and working committee meeting, which was no longer held outside of government facilities, as it says on the letter circulated by Minister of Administrative and Bureaucracy Reform, as well as the Presidents directives.

"All government events are held in state owned facilities, in order to save an amount of funds," said the Seskab.

The meeting was attended by members of Commission II from 9 different fractions in the House of Representatives. Minister of State Secretariat, Pratikno, Minister of Land and Spatial Planning and head of National Land Affairs Agency, Ferry M. Baldan as well as Chief of Presidential Staff Teten Masduki also appeared to attend the meeting. Officials from echelon I and II from the Ministry of State Secretary, Ministry of Land and Spatial Planning/National Land Affairs Agency, Cabinet Secretariat and Presidential Office Staff could also be seen attending the meeting.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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