Home Affairs Minister: Not All Regional Heads Are Bad, Many Are Good and Accomplished
Home Affairs Minister (Mendagri) Tito Karnavian stated that not all regional heads have poor performance. Although some have encountered legal problems, many regional heads work hard and achieve accomplishments.
This was conveyed by Tito at the Appreciation for High-Performing Regional Governments event at the Wyndham Opi Hotel in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Saturday (25/4/2026). Initially, Tito said that giving awards is one way to encourage regional government performance.
“So, giving awards is one method to create a competitive climate so that regions can boost their performance more optimally,” Tito said.
Tito explained that Indonesia has 552 regional governments consisting of 38 provinces, 98 cities, and 416 regencies. This number, he said, demonstrates the large scale of governance as well as the complexity of issues faced by each region.
“On one hand, we are proud of a large and vast country, and a governance system with many layers; on the other hand, this also creates complexity with various regional problems,” he continued.
He said the challenges faced by regional heads are not easy. Nevertheless, he noted, each regional head has been given authority to manage government affairs to advance their regions.
“There are regional heads who are certainly good, there are also those who are average, and there are those who need to improve their capabilities,” he stated.
Tito also touched on the fact that several regional heads have stumbled into legal issues. However, he stressed that this cannot be generalised as a picture of all regional heads.
“Well, we are indeed concerned about some of our friends and colleagues who have faced legal problems,” he said.
“I just think that those who face legal problems should not lead to generalising all regional heads as bad. There are many good regional heads, many regional heads who strive, go to the field, and meet with the community,” he added.
According to him, the achievements of well-performing regional heads need exposure so that the public knows about them. He reminded that the media plays a very significant role in shaping public opinion.
“The issue is that we should not let our colleagues or friends who may face legal problems, or who are reported for inefficiency in managing budgets, erase the achievements and good performance made by good regional heads,” he explained.
“Therefore, there needs to be exposure; there must be reporting of good things—if not reported, people won’t know. In this era of transparent flow, an open situation, and strong media influence on public opinion,” he added.
Tito said the Ministry of Home Affairs has the responsibility to guide and supervise regional governments. One effort deemed effective is encouraging healthy competition among regional heads.
“The best method, in my opinion, is to create a competitive climate, competing healthily with each other,” he stated.
This event is part of the central government’s efforts to improve regional performance through fiscal incentives. This policy refers to Law No. 1 of 2022 on Financial Relations between the Central Government and Regional Governments, which allows awards based on performance achievements.
In addition, the implementation of this programme is strengthened by regulations on regional financial management as stipulated in Government Regulation No. 12 of 2019.
In this event, several provincial, regency, and city governments in Sumatra will receive appreciation in four main categories: Inflation Control, Reduction in Unemployment Rate, Poverty Alleviation and Stunting Reduction, and Entrepreneur Government/Creative Financing.
The implementation in Palembang, South Sumatra, serves as the opener for a series of national events to be held on six islands in Indonesia.
In addition to the award ceremony, this event will also feature the National Accelerator Forum, a collaborative platform that brings together the central government, regional governments, business actors, investors, MSMEs, academics, and the general public in one dialogue and action forum.
The 2026 High-Performing Regional Governments Appreciation and National Accelerator Forum will feature detikcom’s Editor-in-Chief Alfito Deannova Gintings as moderator.
This event is also attended by the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes), Ministry of Finance (Kemenkeu), National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), and Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS). All regional heads in Sumatra, from governors, regents, to mayors, will also be present.