Home Affairs Ministry Awards Incentives to High-Performing Papua Regional Governments
Minister of Home Affairs Muhammad Tito Karnavian emphasised that the Regional Government Achievement Awards are not merely an evaluation but a platform to showcase innovation and success in improving public welfare. Speaking at the 2026 Regional Papua event at Suni Hotel in Jayapura on Monday, 22 June 2026, he stated the goal was to encourage, inspire, and demonstrate to the public that many regional leaders are performing well.
The awards assess local government performance across four main categories. The first, Poverty Alleviation and Stunting Reduction, evaluates integrated commitment, programme convergence, service delivery, and village-level intervention effectiveness. The second, Entrepreneur Government/Creative Financing, measures capacity to optimise resources and innovate in development financing, including effective management of regionally-owned enterprises to boost locally-generated revenue. The third category, Unemployment Reduction, assesses planned and sustainable programmes, budget support, and innovative labour market solutions. The fourth, Inflation Control, evaluates consistency in maintaining price stability, reporting compliance, budget support, and efforts to protect public purchasing power.
Mendagri Tito explained the competition is now divided by region to provide fairer opportunities for areas outside Java. For Papua, the competition involves six provinces and several key regencies and cities, giving them a greater chance of winning compared to competing nationally against regions with larger fiscal capacities. Awards include trophies, certificates, and fiscal incentives: first place receives Rp 3 billion, second place Rp 2 billion, and third place Rp 1 billion. A total of Rp 64 billion was disbursed for the Papua regional event alone, with Rp 361 billion allocated across all six regions in the first round. Tito has budgeted Rp 1 trillion for the entire 2026 programme and urged regional leaders to use the initiative to further Papua’s progress.
Papua Governor Matius D. Fakhiri welcomed the awards as a strategic learning space to showcase best practices in governance, public service, and development innovation. He stressed that for Papua, development must deliver hope, opportunity, and improved quality of life even to the most remote villages, in line with the vision of a healthy, prosperous, and harmonious Papua.