Ministry of Home Affairs Awards Makassar City Best in Creative Financing
The Makassar City Government, led by Mayor Munafri Arifuddin, has once again achieved a commendable milestone by winning first place in the Sulawesi 2026 Creative Financing Category at the Ministry of Home Affairs’ (Kemendagri) Best Performing Local Government Appreciation event. The award, presented during a ceremony in Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi on Friday (29 May), includes a Rp3 billion incentive to recognise the city’s innovative and sustainable approach to managing development financing.
Mayor Munafri expressed his gratitude for the recognition, attributing the success to the collective efforts of the city administration in delivering effective, innovative governance that benefits the community. “This is a source of great joy. The award reflects our joint hard work and the regional administration’s performance in creative financing,” he stated on Sunday (31 May).
In its second year under the Munafri-Aliyah leadership, Makassar not only secured the top spot in creative financing but also placed third in poverty and stunting reduction, alongside awards for the highest growth in social security participation and pioneering a vulnerable worker protection program based on Old Age Insurance (JHT) across Sulawesi’s cities and regencies.
The series of accolades reinforces Makassar’s position as one of the best-performing regional governments in eastern Indonesia. These achievements demonstrate successful collaboration between government, business, and society to drive inclusive development, expand social protection, and strengthen fiscal capacity for strategic programmes that directly benefit residents.
Munafri highlighted that the awards confirm Makassar’s ability to generate new revenue streams while maximising existing potential through robust and measurable regulations. “This means not only securing new revenue sources but also ensuring strong regulations to optimise income patterns, particularly in Makassar,” he added, stressing the need to identify all potential revenue sources.
He also noted that the city’s ongoing digital transformation has significantly improved revenue management efficiency. Integrated digital services and oversight systems have boosted local revenue, with digital initiatives and regulatory frameworks contributing to substantial PAD (Local Revenue) growth. “We will continue developing these efforts to generate larger revenue streams supporting Makassar’s development,” he said.
Munafri urged city officials to maintain high performance, enhance innovation, and ensure transparent, accountable governance. The recognition underscores Makassar’s status as a leading regional government in eastern Indonesia, setting an example in innovative, adaptive, and sustainable financial management.
The Best Performing Local Government Appreciation 2026 Regional Sulawesi event evaluates governments based on strategic development indicators. Four key categories were assessed: Inflation Control, Creative Financing, Unemployment Reduction, and Poverty and Stunting Mitigation. For Creative Financing, criteria included optimising resource potential, innovative financing for development, BUMD management, PAD growth, financial governance, digitalisation of government services, and compliance with good governance indicators, including KPK recommendations.
The Inflation Control category assessed local governments’ ability to maintain price stability through measured policies, including reporting compliance, budgetary support for inflation control programmes, and the effectiveness of steps taken by local governments in maintaining price stability.