Minister Erick Thohir Claims Kemenpora Has 'Moved Up a Class' in Governance

Minister of Youth and Sports Erick Thohir said the Ministry of Youth and Sports (Kemenpora) is beginning to “move up a class” in governance after recording a number of improvements, ranging from bureaucratic transformation to follow-up on findings by the Audit Board of Indonesia (BPK).

“The average for other ministries and agencies is 76 percent. That means Kemenpora has moved up a class,” Erick told reporters at the Kemenpora office in Senayan, Jakarta, on Wednesday.

Erick said follow-up on BPK findings at Kemenpora has now reached 81 percent, above the average for other ministries and agencies.

In addition, Kemenpora again obtained an unqualified opinion (WTP) from the BPK, which he considered one of the positive indicators in the management and accountability of state finances.

Nevertheless, Erick stressed that Kemenpora is not yet satisfied with these achievements and is still working to improve the quality of governance and state financial accountability.

Improvements are also visible in the assessment of Kemenpora’s bureaucratic transformation, which has now reached 83 percent. Erick said the increase could not be separated from the direction of President Prabowo Subianto and the assistance of the Ministry of State Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reform (PANRB).

“And of course this 83 percent target is not yet the target we want. We will continue even though it has already increased far from before,” he said.

Erick has asked Kemenpora officials to continue improving performance by implementing e-procurement and e-budgeting systems to strengthen transparency in budget management.

According to Erick, the governance improvements are also being applied in the management of the national training camp (pelatnas) budget, which is now based on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

All pelatnas funding is directed specifically based on sport, event, athlete, and the competition targets that have been set.

“And we at Kemenpora have used a KPI-based, targeted system for the entire pelatnas budget. What the sport is, what the event is, who the athlete is. Yes, so it is truly targeted,” said Erick.

He expressed hope that the system can ensure the national sports budget is used more transparently, measurably, and in line with the performance targets of each athlete.