Makassar City Government Ready for Inter-Regional Collaboration to Strengthen Digital Services

The Makassar City Government is ready to collaborate with other regions to strengthen digital-based public services. Head of the Makassar Communication and Informatics Department, Muhammad Roem, stated that the city is prepared to share its experience so that its innovation can benefit other areas. Currently, the Makassar City Government is developing an innovation called LONTARA+ (Makassar Citizen Integrated Online Service), a digital platform that integrates public complaint services with all regional apparatus organisations (OPD) so that every report can be followed up quickly, precisely, and measurably. Roem made this statement after serving as a speaker at the Communication and Digitalisation Forum, part of the 18th National Working Meeting of the Association of Indonesian City Governments (APEKSI) in Medan. He noted that several city governments expressed interest in visiting Makassar to study the implementation of LONTARA+ as a best practice for digital-based public services. Many asked about the coordination pattern between OPDs, the complaint follow-up mechanism, and how leadership commitment is built to ensure all regional apparatuses share the same spirit for digital transformation. Roem welcomed this enthusiasm, stating that inter-regional collaboration through APEKSI could further strengthen digital transformation in public services across Indonesia. He explained that the presence of LONTARA+ is a crucial part of the digital transformation process aimed at bringing government services closer to the public through technology. The platform allows citizens to easily access various public services through a single application, free of charge and available 24 hours a day. He emphasised that the success of LONTARA+ is determined not only by technological sophistication but also by the commitment of all regional apparatuses to provide responsive services. Roem added that the programme’s success is inseparable from the strong commitment of the Mayor of Makassar in driving digital transformation within the city government. Through the integrated system, every public report can be monitored for its resolution process, making services more transparent and accountable.