New Government Needs To Revise Macro Economic Targets

Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, Aug 27 (Antara) - An economist from the Widya Mandira Catholic University in Kupang, Dr. Thomas Ola Langoday, said the government of president elect Joko Widodo needs to revise the macro economic targets set by the present government in calculating the 2015 draft state budget. "We hope the new government could revise the macro economic assumptions used by the present government and parliament," Dr Thomas said here on Wednesday. Joko Widodo, better known as Jokowi and vice president elect Jusuf Kalla (JK), are to be officially installed on Oct 21 replacing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice president Boediono. Dr Thomas said economic growth target of 7 percentr set by Jokowi could still be achieved by keeping the inflation at not more than 5 percent. The government set targets in the draft budget of 2015 with economic growth at 5.5 percent-6 percent, inflation at 3.5-5 percent, rupiah exchange rate at 11,500 per US dollar, and oil lifting at 1.2 million-1.26 million barrels per day . Dr Thomas said if Jokowi-JK government succeeded in increasing the economic growth to 7 percent per year, more jobs would be open and unemployment rate would be reduced. He said change in mindset of all stakeholders and the people in general is needed in order to reach an economic growth target. Change in the mindset could bring about change in habit from being consumptive to being productive, from being corrupt to anti corruption and from being lazy to hard working , he said. "Only with such change we could hope to have a government with high morality, and integrity having good characteristics. "It is not even impossible we could chalk up a two-digit economic growth," he said. Indonesia, which is rich in natural resources , could grow to become a prosperous nation, he added.