Home Affairs Ministry Awards Papua Region's Top-Performing Local Governments
The Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemendagri) has awarded local governments in Tanah Papua for their achievements in development performance and governance. Minister of Home Affairs Muhammad Tito Karnavian stated that Papua was the final region to receive such accolades, following similar ceremonies for five other regions: Sumatera, Kalimantan, Maluku-Nusa Tenggara (Nusra), Jawa-Bali, and Sulawesi. This regional division was implemented to ensure that awards are not dominated solely by regions with strong fiscal capacity.
“Previously, we held the competition at the national level. When competing nationally, the winners were always the fiscally strong regions. That is why we created six regional competitions,” he said during the Apresiasi Pemda Berprestasi Regional Papua event at the Suni Abepura Hotel in Jayapura on Monday. To further maintain competitive balance, the ministry made special adjustments given the limited number of cities in Tanah Papua. Regencies that serve as provincial capitals—Merauke, Manokwari, Nabire, and Jayawijaya—were placed in the same group as the cities of Jayapura and Sorong to ensure fairer evaluation opportunities.
The awards were presented based on performance in four categories: Unemployment Reduction, Creative Financing, Inflation Control, and Poverty Reduction and Stunting Alleviation. Each category recognised achievements at the provincial, provincial capital, and regency levels. The ministry also provided government assistance to the top performers, with first-place winners receiving Rp3 billion, second-place winners Rp2 billion, and third-place winners Rp1 billion.
In the Poverty Reduction and Stunting Alleviation category for regencies, Mimika Regency won first place, followed by Jayapura Regency in second and Biak Numfor Regency in third. For provincial capitals, Merauke Regency took first place and Jayapura City second. At the provincial level, Papua Province secured first place and West Papua Province second. In the Creative Financing category for regencies, Mimika Regency again won first place, with Jayapura Regency second and Raja Ampat Regency third. For provincial capitals, Jayapura City won first place and Manokwari Regency second, while at the provincial level, Papua Province came first and Southwest Papua Province second.