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The Ministry of State Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reform (PANRB) aims to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of digital technology spending within central government agencies for the upcoming 2024 Budget Year. Their approach involves the implementation of Budget Evaluation (Clearance) within the framework of the Electronic-Based Government System (SPBE). This initiative signifies a stride towards harnessing the full potential of digital technologies to drive government operations.
Hamzah Fansuri, a Young Policy Analyst at the Deputy Directorate for Institutional and Organisational Affairs, articulated the importance of the clearance process. The central goal is to align planning, budgeting, and the development or procurement of SPBE applications. By doing so, the government aims to achieve a more targeted, efficient, and effective approach to digital application development.
“Inefficiency and ineffectiveness in application spending are the current challenges, and clearance is designed to address this. Thus, it is hoped that the development of applications will not overlap with those of other units or agencies,” Hamzah explained.
As a sign of progress, the budget evaluation of SPBE in 2023 has already seen 49 ministries and agencies undergo a spending evaluation process. However, 17 ministries and agencies have yet to submit their evaluations, signifying the need for more comprehensive participation.
This endeavour also has its roots in the 2021 budget year when the Minister of Finance and the Minister of National Development Planning/Bappenas jointly authorised the allocation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) spending recommendations for central agencies.
The Indonesian government urges its agencies to follow the clearance process for ICT spending within the framework of implementing SPBE and the Indonesian Single Data Source (SDI). This must be accomplished before the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget is determined. Evaluations of ICT spending can be submitted through the Budget Evaluation SPBE (EGA SPBE) application, accessible via the link https://ega-spbe.layanan.go.id.
Achmad Fauzan, Head of the Budget System Planning Section at the Budget Directorate of the Directorate General of Budget, delved into the core of ICT spending allocation. It revolves around the Classification of Detailed Outputs (KRO) and Detailed Outputs (RO). These encompass public data and information, ICT infrastructure, ICT equipment and infrastructure, and government information systems.
The clearance recommendation is not limited to one specific domain; rather, it applies to agencies looking to build or acquire new IT systems or general applications. This extends to the procurement of new servers and new data centres. It also caters to Ministries or Agencies utilising ICT to provide SPBE users with specialised application systems.
Fauzan emphasised the flexibility and timeline of the clearance process. It can be initiated from the indicative budget stage to budget allocation and even during the budget revision phase in the year of implementation. The process is conducted through the EGA system, seamlessly integrating with the SAKTI Application. This integration ensures that KRO and RO references always align with the Planning Documents available in the SAKTI and KRISNA Applications.
Jusuf A Simatupang, Chair of the SPBE Governance Team at the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, rounded out the perspective by focusing on the importance of conducting budget evaluations for ICT spending across ministries and agencies. This systematic evaluation ensures that central agency ICT spending is not just well-targeted but also aligned with their business processes and functions. It aims to eliminate silos, prevent overlapping ICT spending with other central agencies, and minimise redundancy in government data.
“It is essential to avoid situations where agencies develop applications that do not align with their responsibilities, as this can lead to conflicts with the tasks and functions of the respective agencies,” Jusuf concluded.