Home Affairs Minister: Regions Must Implement Efficiency Before Receiving Additional TKD

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian has stressed that the government will take a series of steps before providing additional Transfer ke Daerah (TKD) funds to regional governments struggling to pay employee salaries. The Ministry of Home Affairs has identified at least 79 regions that potentially require additional funds. However, he asserted that the government would not simply approve the additional funds without first evaluating the financial condition of each region. “We will deploy a team to check whether they have implemented efficiency measures. Efficiency first,” Tito said at the Government Communication Body (Bakom) building in Jakarta on Wednesday. According to him, the first step is to ask regional governments to make budget efficiencies, particularly by cutting non-priority spending such as official travel, meetings, and other operational costs. Tito cited an example of a region in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) that claimed it could not pay employee salaries, but upon evaluation, it was found that there was still a lot of inefficient spending. After making savings, the region’s budget was deemed sufficient to meet its salary obligations. He also appreciated the Lahat Regency Government in South Sumatra for taking the initiative to cut operational support spending, saving around Rp400 billion. “I ask them to do that (efficiency) first, don’t just suddenly ask for additional General Allocation Funds (DAU). Implement efficiency first, and we will deploy a team,” he said. As a second step, Tito explained, the government will check whether the region still has rights to Profit-Sharing Funds (DBH) that have not been disbursed by the Ministry of Finance. If so, the Ministry of Home Affairs will coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to ensure the funds are paid out immediately so they can be used to finance employee expenses. However, if after efficiency measures are taken and DBH funds are disbursed, the region still cannot cover its employee expenses, the government will then consider providing a TKD top-up from the Ministry of Finance. Tito estimated that around 79 regions fall into this category. He explained that this figure differs from the data provided by the Minister of Finance, who mentioned around 490 regions. According to Tito, the 490 figure refers to regions that still have unpaid DBH, not regions experiencing difficulties in paying employee expenses. “The 490 are those whose DBH has not been paid. So it’s not that they can’t pay, the ones who can’t pay employee expenses we see as a minimum of 79 (regions),” Tito said. Regarding the budget requirements, Tito said the additional funds needed to cover employee expenses in the 79 regions are estimated to be around Rp3.5 trillion to Rp3.7 trillion. Meanwhile, if other fiscal needs are included, the value of the additional transfer is estimated to be close to Rp14 trillion.