KEPPOK: Accurate Data on Indigenous Papuans Key to Targeted Affirmative Programmes
Wamena (ANTARA) - The Executive Committee for the Acceleration of Special Autonomy Development (KEPPOK) Papua has stated that accurate data collection of Indigenous Papuans (OAP) is essential to support targeted affirmative development in the Land of Papua.
The Chairman of KEPPOK Papua, Velix V. Wanggai, stated in a written briefing in Wamena on Sunday that the collection of OAP data is a crucial component in the implementation of Papua’s Special Autonomy (Otsus) policy.
“Accurate OAP data collection is required to ensure that affirmative programmes are precisely targeted,” he said.
According to Velint, provincial governments in the Land of Papua, including the Highland Papua province, need to compile OAP population data through the development of an integrated population administration information system.
This data collection process should be carried out by provincial and regency/city regional agencies responsible for population affairs and civil registration to produce accurate demographic data.
He explained that OAP data collection across the six provinces in the Land of Papua needs to integrate various population data sources, including population censuses, population surveys, sectoral statistics, and family data collection.
“OAP data collection is inseparable from the development of an integrated population data and information management system by utilising information and communication technology,” he noted.
He added that integrated population data can serve as a foundation for the planning and implementation of Special Autonomy programmes that favour Indigenous Papuans, particularly in the fields of education, health, and economic empowerment.
Velix further noted that OAP data collection in the six provinces of the Land of Papua must be synchronised with the ‘One Data Indonesia’ programme to facilitate future development planning.
“We sincerely hope that local governments, both at the provincial and regency/city levels in the Land of Papua, fully support the collection of OAP population data so that accurate data regarding the population size is obtained, which can support the realisation of Special Autonomy fund usage,” he said.
The compilation of OAP population data is one of the authorities of local governments as regulated in Government Regulation Number 106 of 2021 concerning the Authority and Institutional Implementation of Special Autonomy Policies in Papua Province.
Meanwhile, Government Regulation Number 107 of 2021 regulates the receipt, management, supervision, and the master plan for the acceleration of development within the framework of implementing Papua’s Special Autonomy.