Indonesia has more than doubled its government-funded energy subsidies this year, to Rp 349.9 trillion (US$23.56 billion). But how else could that money be spent to help people who need it most?
Government gets R90 billion a year from fuel levies.
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Policies supporting fossil fuels are an instant way to ramp up the economy. However, this could come back to hit Indonesia’s economy in the medium to long-term.
Removal of the fuel subsidy in Nigeria is long overdue, but replacing it with a transport grant is not the best approach.
The World Bank says Nigeria’s surging inflation had pushed an estimated seven million citizens below poverty line in 2020.
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Food inflation figures in Nigeria give cause for concern. Accusing fingers are pointed at rising dollars, farmers and middlemen, but this expert says the can may have been placed on the wrong heads.
A January 2012 demonstration against the removal of petroleum subsidies in the northern Nigerian city of Kano.
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