Home Affairs Ministry to Finalise Major Regional Governance Blueprint by End of 2026

Jakarta - The Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemendagri) is targeting the completion of the Regional Governance Grand Design (Desartada) before the end of 2026, to serve as a basis for evaluating regional autonomy and as a reference for regional structuring and discussions on territorial expansion in Indonesia. Vice Minister of Home Affairs Bima Arya Sugiarto stated that the document is being prepared in response to various challenges encountered over more than two decades of implementing regional autonomy. “This grand design is essential as the basis for the regional autonomy format, as well as our response to the issue of territorial expansion. This is also the result of a meeting with Commission II of the DPR RI,” said Bima Arya during an online discussion for the launch of the book ‘Decentralization, Democracy, and Local Politics in Indonesia’ on Tuesday. According to him, a comprehensive evaluation is necessary to measure the extent to which regions are capable of being fiscally independent and contributing to national economic growth. Therefore, the preparation of Desartada focuses not only on aspects of regional authority, but also on governance, supervision, and the quality of regional leadership. Bima explained that 2026 data from the Ministry shows there remains a fiscal capacity gap between regions. Several provinces such as DKI Jakarta, Banten, and East Kalimantan have relatively strong fiscal capacity, while a number of other regions still depend on transfers from the central government. “We must look at a broader perspective. It is very complex. The improvement of regional autonomy covers many things, including regulatory factors, the regional head election system, and cultural factors,” he said. In addition to the fiscal aspect, the Ministry is also highlighting the development achievements of newly created regions resulting from expansion, noting that the results have been mixed. According to Bima, this condition does not necessarily indicate a failure of expansion, but rather the need to strengthen regional capacity to produce more optimal development performance. Bima added that the Desartada will also consider the integrity aspect of regional governance, given the high number of corruption cases involving regional heads and DPRD members over the past two decades. “The Regional Governance Grand Design being prepared must touch not only on authority and fiscal matters, but also on the recruitment system, supervision, and overall bureaucratic governance,” he said. According to Bima, the document is expected to become a footing for reforming regional governance to strengthen public services, increase accountability, and accelerate equitable development across all regions of Indonesia.