Head of LAN Reports Civil Service Workforce Ratio in Papua Exceeds National Average
The Head of Indonesia’s State Administration Institute (LAN), Muhammad Taufiq, has stated that the ratio of civil servants (aparatur sipil negara/ASN) in Papua is significantly higher than the national average. Of 42 districts across six provinces in Papua, 32 regions have a higher ASN ratio compared to national data.
According to data from BPN and BPS for 2024, the ASN ratio in Papua is approximately one civil servant serving 10 residents. Notably, Waropen and Supiori districts have particularly high ratios, with 11.64 and 11.36 ASN serving 100 residents respectively. This compares to the national average of one ASN serving 50-54 residents, or 1.7 ASN per 100 population.
Speaking at the opening of a Coordination Meeting on ASN Competency Development for the Papua Region in Nabire, Central Papua, Taufiq remarked that with a relatively large apparatus compared to the population size, public services in Papua should operate more optimally. “Logically, the people of Papua should be more prosperous given the large number of civil servants and relatively small population,” he stated.
However, Taufiq identified significant challenges, including competency disparities amongst ASN in Papua, particularly in technical capabilities, digital technology mastery, and public service quality. He called upon all provincial and district governments in Papua to focus on enhancing civil servant competencies to improve service quality to communities.
Taufiq emphasised that regional development cannot progress effectively without strengthening the quality of the civil service workforce. “No matter how much budget enters Papua, if the quality of ASN human resources is not developed, people will not truly prosper,” he said.
He urged the coordination meeting to serve as a momentum for regional governments in Papua to align their perspectives on ASN competency development. Through this forum, regional authorities were encouraged to formulate ASN training needs, synchronise training programmes across training management units, disseminate civil service capacity development policies, and devise solutions to various human resource development challenges for ASN in the Papua region.
Central Papua Provincial Secretary Silwanus Sumule acknowledged that, as a newly formed province in 2022, Central Papua faces considerable challenges in building strong and effective governance. Given the region’s vast geography and isolated areas, civil servants require adequate competence and professionalism to serve communities effectively. “ASN plays a very strategic role as the primary driver of regional development, making apparatus competency development extremely important,” he said. Sumule expressed hope that the coordination meeting would generate ideas and concrete steps to strengthen the ASN competency development system in Papua, enabling more effective and professional public service delivery.