Investment Ministry Official Criticises South Sulawesi's Over-Reliance on Regional Budgets for Infrastructure
MAKASSAR — Gatot Subyargo Wijayadi of the Ministry of Investment/BKPM has highlighted a governance mentality in South Sulawesi that he considers overly dependent on Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budgets (APBD) as the primary source of infrastructure development, Friday, 25 April 2025.
Gatot cited the Makassar-Parepare railway project, whose construction has not progressed optimally. He attributed this to the regional government's lack of readiness in preparing supporting regulations along the railway corridor, particularly in the regencies of Maros and Pangkep. He stressed that infrastructure such as railways holds enormous potential for driving regional economies.
"Take the Makassar-Parepare railway — is it running? Is it full? That's because the regions didn't prepare the regulations to support it. Everywhere in the world, railways are needed and vitally important, but because the regions weren't ready and didn't care because all they know is APBD, the railway that was built by the previous president is not operating optimally," Gatot said.
Gatot emphasised that the central government has issued numerous national regulations to encourage investment, yet implementation at the regional level remains weak. The lack of initiative and outreach by regional governments regarding investment potential has become a serious concern.
"The regions need to be more proactive. Don't blame the central government — the centre has already provided plenty of national-level regulations, but the regions haven't responded to them. This means the regions haven't done enough to promote investment," he stressed.
Furthermore, Gatot identified the root of the problem hampering infrastructure improvement in the regions as the mindset of regional leaders who tend to maintain their dependence on APBD funding.
"The obstacle is simple — regional leaders want to use APBD. Use APBD to its fullest extent, so that APBD plus investment becomes the goal of regional development. That's what needs to be synchronised," he added.
Nevertheless, Gatot acknowledged the extraordinary potential of South Sulawesi, noting that all of the province's priority sectors have been incorporated into President Prabowo's five-year National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN).
"Looking at South Sulawesi's potential, it's extraordinary. Everything is included in President Prabowo's five-year RPJMN — all the sectors are there in South Sulawesi. The question now is how to internalise this across all regional governments in South Sulawesi, from the provincial level down to regents and mayors, and implement it in accordance with the relevant regulations," Gatot said.
Gatot cited the Makassar-Parepare railway project, whose construction has not progressed optimally. He attributed this to the regional government's lack of readiness in preparing supporting regulations along the railway corridor, particularly in the regencies of Maros and Pangkep. He stressed that infrastructure such as railways holds enormous potential for driving regional economies.
"Take the Makassar-Parepare railway — is it running? Is it full? That's because the regions didn't prepare the regulations to support it. Everywhere in the world, railways are needed and vitally important, but because the regions weren't ready and didn't care because all they know is APBD, the railway that was built by the previous president is not operating optimally," Gatot said.
Gatot emphasised that the central government has issued numerous national regulations to encourage investment, yet implementation at the regional level remains weak. The lack of initiative and outreach by regional governments regarding investment potential has become a serious concern.
"The regions need to be more proactive. Don't blame the central government — the centre has already provided plenty of national-level regulations, but the regions haven't responded to them. This means the regions haven't done enough to promote investment," he stressed.
Furthermore, Gatot identified the root of the problem hampering infrastructure improvement in the regions as the mindset of regional leaders who tend to maintain their dependence on APBD funding.
"The obstacle is simple — regional leaders want to use APBD. Use APBD to its fullest extent, so that APBD plus investment becomes the goal of regional development. That's what needs to be synchronised," he added.
Nevertheless, Gatot acknowledged the extraordinary potential of South Sulawesi, noting that all of the province's priority sectors have been incorporated into President Prabowo's five-year National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN).
"Looking at South Sulawesi's potential, it's extraordinary. Everything is included in President Prabowo's five-year RPJMN — all the sectors are there in South Sulawesi. The question now is how to internalise this across all regional governments in South Sulawesi, from the provincial level down to regents and mayors, and implement it in accordance with the relevant regulations," Gatot said.