VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia has signed at A$1.5 billion ($1.09 billion) loan deal with Australia’s government to be used to help combat the coronavirus pandemic in the Southeast Asian country, Indonesia’s finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Thursday.

“Everybody, all parts of society, is hurt by this COVID-19 (outbreak) and the role of fiscal policy together with other instruments, like monetary policy, is very critical during this difficult time,” Sri Mulyani told a streamed news conference.

Indonesia has recorded the highest number of coronavirus infections and fatalities in Southeast Asia, with 448,118 cases and 14,836 deaths by Wednesday, according to the country’s COVID-19 task force. (Reuters)

 Indonesia has signed a A$1.5 billion ($1.09 billion) loan deal with Australia’s government to be used to help combat the coronavirus pandemic in the Southeast Asian country, Indonesia’s finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Thursday.

“Everybody, all parts of society, are hurt by this COVID-19 (outbreak) and the role of fiscal policy together with other instruments, like monetary policy, is very critical during this difficult time,” Sri Mulyani told a streamed news conference.

Indonesia has recorded the highest number of coronavirus infections and fatalities in Southeast Asia, with 448,118 cases and 14,836 deaths by Wednesday, according to the country’s COVID-19 task force.

South Africa will allow entry of visitors from all countries in a bid to boost its tourism and hospitality sector, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Wednesday.

South Africa, the continent's most developed economy, has seen an increase in infections since loosening lockdown restrictions in September to their lowest level.

With more than 740,000 cases of COVID-19 and at least 20,000 deaths, South Africa currently has the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa.

Ramaphosa, in a televised national address, said normal trading hours for alcohol would be restored as well. Alcohol sales were previously capped at the weekend in a bid to ease pressure on hospitals for alcohol-related accidents.

"We also open international travel from all countries by complying with the necessary health protocols and submitting negative COVID-19 certificates," he said.

"By using rapid testing and close monitoring, we aim to limit the spread of infection from imported cases," he added.

"We hope that these steps will be of great help to businesses in the tourism and hospitality sector."

However, Ramaphosa warned of a potential resurgence in infections, saying the number of new cases in the Eastern Cape province was 50 percent higher than in the previous week, with higher infection rates also seen in the Northern Cape and Western Cape regions.

"We have also seen in other countries how the re-emergence of COVID-19 can crush hopes for a speedy economic recovery," he said.

The president did not provide further details or a specific date for reopening. A presidential spokesman could not be reached for comment.

South Africa opened its borders to some international tourists in early October after imposing a six-month ban. At the time, however, restrictions were placed on visitors from high-risk countries, with the latest list including the United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, Brazil, and India.

South Africa is heavily dependent on tourism, which before the pandemic accounted for nearly nine percent of gross domestic product and employed more than four percent of the workforce.

The economy was already in recession before the pandemic hit, and one of the world's toughest lockdowns has exacerbated woes. Millions of its citizens have lost their jobs or are increasingly pushed into poverty. (Antaranews)

The Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia Jeddah said that until now there were no Indonesian citizens who were victims of the explosion at a non-Muslim cemetery in the Al Balad area, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

"On November 11, 2020, there was an explosion at around 12.30 Saudi time at a non-Muslim cemetery in the Al Balad area, Jeddah. Until now, no Indonesian citizen has been victimized in this incident," said a statement from the Indonesian Consulate in Jeddah, as quoted from his account on Instagram, Thursday.

The Consulate General in Jeddah appealed to all Indonesian citizens in the work area of ​​the Indonesian Consulate General in Jeddah to increase caution and vigilance, especially in public places and crowds such as shopping centers and markets.

Indonesian citizens are expected to always monitor official information from local authorities and Indonesian Representatives in Saudi Arabia, said the Indonesian Consulate.

The Consulate General in Jeddah again reminded all Indonesian citizens not to disseminate information that cannot be justified (hoax).

In an emergency situation, Indonesian citizens can contact the Call Center Hotline of the Indonesian Consulate General in Jeddah 966 50 360 9667. (Antaranews)

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati stated that the potential for Indonesia's digital economy is extraordinary, which can be seen through projections from research results by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company.

"The report that illustrates the potential of Indonesia's digital economy is extraordinary," said Sri Mulyani at the opening of the 2020 Indonesia Fintech Summit in Jakarta, Wednesday.

Sri Mulyani said the research estimated that the potential for the internet from 2019 to 2025 would more than triple, from $40 billion to $133 billion.

Then the value of e-commerce transactions will more than quadruple, from $20 billion to $82 billion, and online travel services from $10 billion to $25 billion.

Online media is estimated to increase from $3.5 billion to $9 billion and online vehicle services from $5.7 billion to $18 billion.

"This means that Indonesia has tremendous potential in the digital economy sector, but this potential cannot become something real and concrete if it does not develop various necessary and submission conditions," said Sri Mulyani.

She explained that the submission condition in this case is an adequate infrastructure so that all Indonesian people from Sabang to Merauke can access the internet.

"There are no terms outermost, marginalized, or left behind. They need internet access, so we need to build infrastructure," said Sri Mulyani.

Moreover, she said that according to research from the World Economic Forum (WEF), Indonesia will succeed in achieving this goal if it can meet four problems.

The four problems are infrastructure including ICT, increasing the capacity of Human Resources in order to be able to adopt ICT, as well as institutions and regulations.

"If we look at the infrastructure, the government, because this year's situation has COVID-19, is a bit slowdown," said Sri Mulyani.

Even though infrastructure development has decreased this year, Sri Mulyani ensures that the government will push it back next year by allocating a budget of Rp 413 trillion in the 2021 State Budget.

"What's that for? To build a base transmission station in more than 5 thousand villages, we know that there are 12 thousand villages that are not connected to ICT," said Sri Mulyani. (Antaranews)