Home Affairs Ministry hopes special autonomy funds in Papua must be used transparently

Wamena (ANTARA) - Indonesia’s Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemendagri) hopes that the use of special autonomy funds or otsus for 2026 in Papua must be transparent so that their allocation can be known to the public. The central government through the Ministry of Finance has disbursed the first stage of otsus funds for 2026 to six provinces in Papua, namely Papua, West Papua, Central Papua, South Papua, Papua Mountains, and Southwest Papua. “We hope that after the otsus funds are realised, the regional governments in the six provinces must be able to convey this to the public so that the people know where the otsus funds are directed or used for what,” said Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Ribka Haluk in a written statement in Wamena on Tuesday. According to her, in this era of information openness, the use of otsus funds or other funds must be open so that the public knows exactly the allocation of state budget for the people of Papua. “The use of otsus funds must be conveyed to the public, do not do it secretly because the public will be suspicious about its use. We hope that the regional governments that have used the otsus funds can publish it to the public,” she said. She explained that the disbursement of the first stage of otsus funds for 2026 to the six provinces in Papua has been realised at 95 percent. From 46 regions in Papua, the realisation of the first stage of otsus funds for 2026 has reached 95 percent. “And the disbursement of otsus funds in Papua will soon be completed in the near future,” she said. She added that the Central Government Development Acceleration Team, in this case the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, and the National Development Planning Agency, has identified problems in each region regarding the use of otsus funds. “We ensure that issues regarding the use of otsus funds in Papua will soon be resolved. Improvements in the governance of fund use continue to show positive developments in recent years,” she said.