Home Affairs Minister Says Regional Government Awards Must Spur Local Performance

Home Affairs Minister Muhammad Tito Karnavian has emphasised that awarding high-performing regional governments (Pemda) is part of an effort to boost regional performance. Beyond serving as a form of appreciation, the awards are expected to spur regional heads to continue innovating and improving governance. Tito made the remarks after attending the Regional Government Achievement Awards for the Papua Region in 2026 at the Suni Abepura Hotel, Jayapura City, Papua, on Monday evening (22/6). “We hope that through this event, fellow regional heads will be more enthusiastic and motivated. For those who have not been as fortunate, we hope they will compete to obtain fiscal incentive funds,” Tito said. According to Tito, the awards demonstrate that many regions are capable of showing positive achievements in governance. He expressed hope that regional heads who have not yet won awards will use this as motivation to improve their performance and vie for central government fiscal incentives. On that occasion, the Home Affairs Minister also appreciated the support of Commission II of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) for the event. He confirmed that similar activities will continue to be held across six regions as part of the ministry’s efforts to encourage improved regional government performance. He stated that this approach is an implementation of a ‘stick and carrot’ method, providing awards for high achievers while simultaneously encouraging other regions to improve. Regarding the assessment mechanism, Tito stressed that the data used comes from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) and the Regional Government Information System (SIPD). Therefore, the assessment process is believed to be accountable and transparent. “Just by taking that data, we can already see which regions can control inflation and keep it relatively stable. Unemployment data is also available at BPS. Likewise, poverty data is at BPS, so we can see which regions experience fluctuations. Then, creative financing is taken from SIPD,” he explained. The Home Affairs Minister added that for this year’s awards, the ministry collaborated with a national media outlet. Through this partnership, he hopes the various achievements of regional heads can be publicised more widely to the community via the media.