Home Affairs Ministry: Management of Papua's Special Autonomy Funds Must Be On Target

The Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemendagri) of the Republic of Indonesia has reminded provincial and district/city governments across Papua to manage Special Autonomy (Otsus) funds transparently and on target. Hoiruddin Hasibuan, Special Staff to the Minister of Home Affairs for Village Governance and Border Development, stated in Timika on Monday during his address at the strategic coordination forum for accelerating Papua’s development that good governance is the key to managing Otsus funds. “Therefore, the management of resources, including Otsus funds, must be carried out transparently, accountably, and on target so that the benefits are truly felt, especially by the indigenous Papuans (OAP),” said Hoiruddin at the forum attended by all regional heads in Papua. Kemendagri continues to promote the implementation of Otsus funds as an instrument to strengthen accountability, so that their utilisation can be clearly known by the public and the effectiveness of their use can be measured. “The implementation of Otsus in the regions must be supported by good collaboration and synergy among the main pillars of regional government, including the Governor, DPRP, MRP, Regents, Mayors, and DPRK,” he said. In addition, it must be supported by the technical capacity of regional executive officials and regional apparatus so that every policy and budget allocation can be directed effectively to address the real needs of indigenous Papuans. He stated that the government continues to strengthen the institutional framework of Otsus Papua, including through the establishment of the Steering Body for the Acceleration of Special Autonomy Development in Papua (BP3OKP) and the Executive Committee for the Acceleration of Otsus Papua Development. “These two institutions are expected to serve as bridges of communication between local governments and the central government in resolving various strategic development issues in Papua. Local governments are urged to actively build communication, coordination, and policy synchronisation with these two institutions,” he said. Hoiruddin stated that the Ministry of Home Affairs also emphasises the importance of accelerating the resolution of various derivative Otsus Papua regulations, particularly Special Regional Regulations (Perdasus) and Provincial Regional Regulations (Perdasi), which are mandated by the Otsus Papua Law. “The existence of these regulations is very important as instruments for implementing special authorities in the regions so that Otsus Papua policies can run more effectively and provide legal certainty,” he said. At the same time, the government is also pushing for the acceleration of amendments to Government Regulation Number 54 of 2024 on the Papuan People’s Council (MRP) as part of strengthening the institutional representation of OAP culture to make it more adaptive to the needs and dynamics of current government administration in Papua. “We reiterate the importance of a census of OAP as the main data base in preparing programme planning, budgeting, and setting implementation targets for Otsus policies,” he said. He emphasised that valid and integrated data is an important foundation so that affirmative actions, protection, and empowerment of OAP are truly on target, in line with the conclusions of the Working Meeting (Raker) on the implementation of Otsus Papua in Commission II of the DPR RI on 13 April 2026. “We invite local governments and all stakeholders to strengthen collaboration and shared commitment in accelerating Papua’s development. We must ensure that all policies, programmes, and budget utilisations truly lead to improving the welfare of Papuan society, especially OAP,” he said.