USU PR- The Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) at Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU) organized a Public Lecture with the Ministry of Finance and PT Sarana Multigriya Finansial, titled 'Bincang APBN: Kupas Tuntas Sistem Pengelolaan #UangKita dan aset #PunyaKita' (Discussing the State Budget: In-depth Analysis of the Management System #OurMoney and Assets #OurPossession). The event occurred at the Prof. Suhadji Hadibroto Auditorium, FEB USU, on Thursday (11/16/2023).

The public lecture featured three speakers: Widodo Ramadyanto, Coordinator of the Financing and Policy Analysis Working Group, Budget Policy Center, Ministry of Finance; Budi Prayitno, Head of Internal Compliance, Legal, and Information Division of the North Sumatra Regional Office of the Directorate General of National Assets Management (DJKN); and Soraya Ramli, Head of the Credit Management Division at PT SMF (Persero).

This educational event aimed to enhance the understanding of young generations about the benefits of the state budget instruments and the role of taxes in national life. Taxes are a significant source of revenue in the state budget, supporting development and providing subsidies, especially for homeownership programs.

Dean of FEB USU, Dr. Fadli, SE., M.Si., explained that the event was a discussion about the state budget, with DJKN North Sumatra providing socialization on state budget management. He hoped this socialization could be utilized and shared with FEB students in the Medan region, attended by representatives from 16 economics faculties.

"This socialization is the second activity by DJKN North Sumatra to explain how the government manages the state budget for the welfare of the people," said Dr. Fadli.

In his opening remarks, Dodok Dwi Handoko, Head of the North Sumatra Regional Office of DJKN, highlighted that strengthening the housing sector is one of the responses of the state budget policy to anticipate global economic uncertainties. This policy includes support for commercial houses by providing VAT DTP for homes under Rp2 billion for 14 months.

"Additionally, there is support for houses for Low-Income Communities (MBR) through the provision of Administrative Cost Assistance (BBA) for 14 months," explained Dodok.

Dodok Dwi Handoko further explained that based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) of North Sumatra Province for the third quarter of 2023, North Sumatra is the province with the largest contribution to economic growth on Sumatra Island, with economic growth of 4.9% and a contribution of the Gross Regional Domestic Product ADHB of North Sumatra in the third quarter of 2023 reaching Rp. 267.30 trillion.

"The Ministry of Finance, through Special Mission Vehicles (SMV) it owns, plays a role in supporting economic development on both a national and regional scale," said Dodok.

In line with this, Heliantopo, Director of Securitization and Financing at PT SMF (Persero), explained that the government, through the Ministry of Finance, established PT Sarana Multigriya Finansial (Persero), which has a strategic role as a Special Mission Vehicle.

"So, we function as a catalyst in developing the housing financing ecosystem in Indonesia," expressed Heliantopo.

Author: Bambang Riyanto - Humas

Interviewee: - - -

Photographer: Irsan Mulyadi - Humas