Expert: Regional Governments Key to Accelerating President Prabowo's Programmes

Public Policy and Economics Expert Anzori Tawakal has assessed that regional governments play an important role in accelerating the implementation of various programmes under President Prabowo Subianto, so that the benefits can be felt more quickly by the public. “At the implementation level, synchronisation, coordination, synergy, and collaboration are needed between ministries and regional governments, be it district, city, or provincial governments, even down to the village level,” Anzori said in Bengkulu on Friday. According to him, the policy direction of President Prabowo’s administration is fundamentally on the right track. However, the success of the programmes is not solely determined by central government policy. Support from regional governments is necessary because many national programmes directly interface with the community, including housing development, the ‘Koperasi Desa/Kelurahan Merah Putih’ (Red and White Village Cooperative), fishing village development, agriculture, animal husbandry, food, irrigation, and basic infrastructure development. “As we see in the context of housing development, the target is 3 million homes. Currently, almost 600,000 homes have been built for citizens in need of subsidised housing. This certainly requires land provision, land acquisition, and permits from the regional government to support this subsidised housing development programme,” he stated. A similar approach is needed for the implementation of the ‘Koperasi Desa/Kelurahan Merah Putih’ located in sub-district and village areas. Regional governments need to provide support so that cooperatives can develop and operate independently. According to Anzori, provincial and district/city governments need to build synergy with the parties responsible for programme implementation so that the facilities and programmes built by the central government can be optimally utilised by the community. “This means the fishing villages cannot stand alone. There cannot just be a national programme; the regional government must also mobilise the fishing communities and coastal residents to utilise the facilities of the fishing ports and all the infrastructure built there,” he said. Anzori assessed that the same pattern applies to programmes for agriculture, animal husbandry, food security, and irrigation development. All these sectors require the involvement of regional governments so that national programmes can be translated according to local needs. “The policies are already correct; they need process and time. Besides, at the implementation level, synchronisation, coordination, synergy, and collaboration are required between ministries and regional governments. Good synergy and good regional support will accelerate the benefits felt by the community,” he stated. The President has stated that these policies are being implemented across various sectors to solve the nation’s problems, including those that have persisted for decades. A number of the policies delivered include food self-sufficiency, simplification of fertiliser regulations, energy self-sufficiency through B50, the nutritious meal programme, downstreaming, and social assistance.