Anggaran Pembagian HP Gratis Capai Rp 75 Triliun, Belum Termasuk Subsidi Internet

Thecuy.com – The government may need an initial budget of up to Rp 75 trillion to launch a program giving away free mobile phones to citizens, with the goal of boosting the digital delivery of social assistance.

Assuming a reach of about 50 million people and a basic phone price of Rp 1.2–1.5 million per unit, the device cost alone could hit Rp 60–75 trillion. “That figure does not yet include various supporting costs such as public education, complaint centers, system maintenance, initial balances, and device replacement every three or four years,” Yusuf told kumparan on Wednesday (14/10).

Beyond acquiring devices, the government also has to shoulder internet‑data subsidies for recipients. Assuming a subsidy of Rp 30,000–50,000 per month, the budget requirement is projected to rise by Rp 18–30 trillion annually. “Such a figure must be seriously weighed against the real benefits produced,” he said.

Yusuf considered that digitalizing aid distribution could cut field collections, improve audit trails, and broaden public access to formal financial services. Nonetheless, mass HP distribution may not be the most effective solution for enhancing aid accuracy. He argued that the core problem in aid delivery is not merely the availability of accounts or digital devices, but the precision of recipient data.

Moreover, some recipients of the Family Hope Program (PKH) and the Non‑Cash Food Assistance (BPNT) already get aid through Himbara bank accounts and the Prosperous Family Card. “A bank account is just a delivery tool. The root cause of mis‑targeting lies in the quality of recipient data. If the data is inaccurate, digitalization will only speed up the wrong distribution,” he clarified.

Yusuf also argued that the claim that program costs could be offset by savings from digitalization needs verification. Assuming a social‑protection budget of about Rp 500 trillion, a 1 % reduction in leaks would save roughly Rp 5 trillion annually. “Thus, the program may not be self‑financing in the short term,” he said.

For this reason, Yusuf advised the government to make use of mobile phones already owned by citizens and to provide devices and data subsidies only to truly needy recipients. “A more efficient approach is to leverage existing mobile phones in the community and allocate devices and data subsidies exclusively to those in genuine need. The government should avoid turning aid distribution into a mass device‑distribution program,” he said.

Similarly, Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) economist Rizal Taufikurahman assessed that a free‑HP distribution program could strain the state budget if it lacks clear measurement of economic benefits. Assuming a phone price of Rp 1–1.5 million per unit, Rizal estimated that delivering devices to 10 million recipients would require Rp 10–15 trillion, not counting operational and supporting infrastructure costs.

“The issue is not merely whether the state budget can afford it, but the size of the fiscal opportunity cost when those funds could instead bolster social assistance, education, health, and economic empowerment,” Rizal said.

Rizal argued that handing out mobile phones does not automatically resolve financial‑inclusion and public‑welfare issues. Challenges for the government to address include digital‑access inequality, low financial literacy, and weak accuracy of aid‑recipient data. He also noted that digitizing transactions does not automatically boost tax revenues significantly, as most aid recipients are low‑income groups with limited tax capacity.

“Increasing state revenue requires broadening formal economic activity, productivity, and tax compliance, not merely adding digital accounts for the poor,” he said.

Rizal added that the government should prioritize data integration, system interoperability, and evaluation of aid‑distribution effectiveness before embarking on massive device procurement. “The metric of policy success is not the quantity of phones handed out, but the extent to which budget leaks are reduced, targeting accuracy improves, and public welfare truly advances,” he said.

Previously, the President’s Special Envoy for Climate and Energy, Hashim Djojohadikusumo, disclosed the government’s plan to distribute mobile phones to citizens in order to support financial‑service digitalization and aid delivery. Hashim stated that the government intends to provide bank accounts to people lacking banking access.

The government has tasked Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI) and Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) with facilitating bank‑account openings for citizens without existing accounts. Besides accounts, the government also plans to supply mobile phones equipped with digital accounts so that people can access financial services and receive aid digitally. “Every citizen will be given a mobile phone with a digital account. All funds will be made available there and disbursed to each individual’s account,” Hashim said.

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