Ministry of Home Affairs Appreciates High-Performing Local Governments: North Sumatra Tops Creative Financing Category
The Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemendagri) held the Appreciation for High-Performing Local Governments 2026 event. North Sumatra emerged as the best province in the creative financing category.
The award ceremony took place at the Wyndham Opi Hotel in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Saturday (25/4/2026). Four categories were evaluated: inflation control, reduction in unemployment rates, alleviation of poverty and stunting, and enhancement of creative financing.
In the creative financing category, Kemendagri highlighted assessments based on local governments’ abilities to optimise resources and create innovative development financing.
The evaluation in this category included innovations in local taxes and levies, management of Regional-Owned Enterprises (BUMD), and utilisation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to drive growth and welfare. The effectiveness of managing regional assets and Public Service Agency Units (BLUD), as well as the ability to forge partnerships with business entities through the Regional Public-Private Partnership Scheme (KPDBU), were also assessed.
Aspects such as digitalisation, financial governance, and consistency in Local Government Financial Report (LKPD) opinions were key factors in determining regional excellence. This category aims to produce best practices that encourage creativity, fiscal independence, and sustainable development.
The Appreciation for High-Performing Local Governments event awarded the top three winners at the regency and city levels, as well as one overall best at the provincial level.
Here is the list of winners:
Regency Level
1st Place: Bintar Regency
2nd Place: South Lampung Regency
3rd Place: Batu Bara Regency
City Level
1st Place: Bandar Lampung City
2nd Place: Medan City
3rd Place: Palembang City
Provincial Level:
North Sumatra
The winners also received assistance from the government in the form of fiscal incentive stimuli for regions. Third-place winners at the city and regency levels will receive Rp1 billion in aid.
Meanwhile, second- and first-place winners at the city and regency levels will receive Rp2 billion and Rp3 billion in aid, respectively. The provincial winner also receives a Rp3 billion fiscal incentive from the central government.
The Appreciation for High-Performing Local Governments 2026 is a collaborative event between Kemendagri and detikcom. In addition to the awards, detikcom and Kemendagri presented the NATIONAL ACCELERATOR FORUM, a national collaborative platform designed to bring together the central government, local governments, business actors, investors, SMEs, academics, and the public in one ecosystem of dialogue and action.