Home Affairs Minister: Integrity Key to Clean and Accountable Governance
Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian has stressed that the integrity of regional heads is key to realising clean, effective, and accountable local governance. He made the statement after providing direction at a Coordination Meeting on Strengthening Integrity and Corruption Prevention in Regional Governance, held in a hybrid format from the Singhasari Room of the Grahadi State Building in Surabaya, East Java, on Tuesday.
According to the Minister, the Ministry of Home Affairs, as the supervisor of regional governments, has a responsibility to continuously guide and remind regional heads to govern with integrity. As part of this effort, the coordination meeting was organised in collaboration with the Corruption Eradication Commission and the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency.
‘The essence is in the context of strengthening integrity and efforts to prevent corruption. We are concerned that a number of regional heads or deputy regional heads have been implicated in corruption cases. Some were recently caught in sting operations, whether by the KPK or other law enforcement officials,’ Tito stated in a written statement on Wednesday.
He affirmed that the government continues to strengthen supervisory and guidance systems to minimise corrupt practices. However, the success of these efforts ultimately depends on the personal integrity of each regional head, as they are public figures who have undergone lengthy political processes and cannot be monitored every hour of every day.
‘These regional heads are not newcomers. On average, they are politicians who have struggled, participated in campaigns, and are known to the public. We also cannot supervise and guard them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Everything comes back to the individual,’ he explained.
Therefore, Tito urged every regional head to maintain their commitment to anti-corruption principles and not be tempted to commit legal violations. He expressed hope that regional heads would continue to strengthen their integrity, improve government systems, and guard themselves against legal troubles, particularly corruption offences.
‘We hope that with this event, although it does not guarantee that legal violations will not occur, we hope they can be significantly reduced. We are raising awareness among fellow regional heads that law enforcement officials are already familiar with the existing modus operandi. So, it comes back to each individual’s integrity,’ Tito said.
He explained that the activity in Surabaya is part of a series of integrity strengthening and corruption prevention programmes divided into 10 regional clusters across Indonesia. Following the Surabaya event, similar activities will be conducted in the nine other regional clusters to further bolster corruption prevention efforts within regional governments.
‘This is being held in Surabaya specifically for East Java and all of Bali. Next, we will go down again, as there are still nine other regional clusters,’ he concluded.
The coordination meeting was attended in person by KPK Chairman Setyo Budiyanto, BPKP Deputy for Government Institution Supervision in the Economy, Infrastructure, and Regional Development Aryanto Wibowo, East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa, and Bali Vice Governor I Nyoman Giri Prasta. Also attending in a hybrid format were regents and mayors from East Java and Bali provinces or their representatives, chairs of provincial, regency, and municipal Regional People’s Representative Councils across East Java and Bali, as well as representatives of regional secretaries, regional inspectors, heads of the Audit Board of Indonesia, BPKP, the Indonesian Ombudsman, and heads of Public Works Departments across East Java and Bali.