BPS Asks Government Not To Cut IDR 2.4 Trillion Economic Census Budget

KATADATA - In April, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) will kick off the 2016 economic census, which is set to cost IDR 2.4 trillion. Head of the BPS, Suryamin, asked the government not to cut its budget allocation setin the Revised 2016 State Budget because this might disrupt the census.

According to Suryamin, most of this money will go to pay the 340 thousand surveyors, and to cover the cost of training, meals, building rent, and data collection until next December. “It will be harmful to cut the budget for field data collection,” said Suryamin after a meeting with the Minister of National Development Planning/Head of National Planning Agency Sofyan Djalil in Jakarta, Monday (28/3).

He added that initially the national economic survey was expected to be completed next August. Budget cuts, however, may delay the process, especially the collection of field data and data processing, until December. (Read: BPS Allocates IDR 2.4 Trillion for 2016 Economic Census)

Budget cuts will also have implications for the agency’s routine activities such as inflation monitoring, which is an important economic indicator, and poverty and unemployment rate calculations, which the government uses for evaluation purposes.

On the same occasion, Sofyan admitted that he is fully aware of the importance of the economic census. That is why he had asked BPS to apply the best standards, because the census data will be used as a reference by the government to create policies. “I’m aware that Suryamin wants (the government) to guarantee the funding for the economic census,” he said. (See also: Demographic Bonus: Opportunity or Threat?)

The census will inform the government of the progress in various aspects ofthe formal and informal sectors. Sofyan expects the census to provide the government with data to prevent a widening of the economic gap in Indonesia. It will also provide updated profiles of people’s businesses.