DPR Bans Regional Heads from Recruiting Honorary Staff Amid Concerns Over Campaign Team Appointments

Deputy Chairman of Commission II of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI), Bahtra Banong, has highlighted the habit of newly elected regional heads who often burden regional budgets by recruiting their campaign teams as temporary staff or auxiliary employees within regional government environments.

He assessed that the recruitment of temporary staff is one of the main triggers for the swelling fiscal burden in various regions because it is carried out without strict regulatory limits.

“Usually our regional heads, after winning and being elected, mostly accommodate their campaign teams to be appointed as temporary staff or seconded to the regional government. This is often a problem because there are no limits; they appoint as many as possible,” said Bahtra at the Parliament Complex in Senayan, Jakarta.

Bahtra supports the Ministry of Home Affairs’ move instructing regional governments to stop all recruitment of new employees or temporary staff. According to him, tightening the rules through a Ministry of Home Affairs circular is crucial so that personnel spending in the regions does not swell.

“The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued a circular stating that there may no longer be any recruitment of temporary staff or appointment of staff deemed capable of burdening regional finances,” he said.

Furthermore, Bahtra revealed that the financial condition of regional governments is currently concerning. The portion of personnel spending in several regions exceeds the ideal threshold set by law, namely a maximum of 30 percent of the regional budget (APBD).

“The condition of our regions, especially regional governments, is that most of their fiscal burden has exceeded the 30 percent rule. In many regions, it has even reached almost 50 to 60 percent,” Bahtra revealed.