DPD Values 'Top Up' of Regional Funds as Solution to Employee Spending Adjustments

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Speaker of the Regional Representative Council (DPD) RI, Sultan B Najamudin, believes the government’s effort to use a ‘top up’ scheme for Transfer to Regions (TKD) funds can overcome or eliminate the potential for adjustments to employee spending in the regions. He assessed that the TKD top-up scheme for regions with relatively low fiscal capacity is the right policy choice in responding to the current challenges and dynamics of regional development. ‘This adjustment of TKD based on fiscal space allows regional governments to eliminate potential policies for employee adjustments in the regions,’ Sultan said in Jakarta on Tuesday. He also welcomed the plan from the Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemendagri). He explained that the DPD RI has long received aspirations from many regional heads regarding the efficiency policy of TKD. According to him, many regents and governors are finding it difficult to manage regional employee spending amid high demands for improving basic public services in the regions. With this policy, he is optimistic that regional governments will be more innovative in drafting allocation plans, especially for proportional employee spending. ‘The hope is that the quality of regional revenue and expenditure planning can be improved according to needs,’ he said. Previously, Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian explained that the central government is preparing an additional fund scheme or ‘top up’ through TKD for 39 regions that are truly experiencing difficulties, including being unable to pay the salaries of Government Employees with Work Agreements (PPPK). In line with this, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Bima Arya also emphasised that the government is continuing to formulate policies related to TKD and communicating the results with Commission II of the House of Representatives (DPR RI). Bima also asked regional heads experiencing difficulties in paying PPPPK salaries not to take drastic steps such as implementing layoffs.