Ministry of Home Affairs Provides Special Assistance for East Kalimantan's Regional Budget Management

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemendagri) is providing special assistance for the management of the Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBD) in East Kalimantan Province (Kaltim), following complaints from the public and public scrutiny regarding budget allocations. Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Bima Arya Sugiarto stated that the central government is closely monitoring developments in budget management in the region. “We are providing special assistance to Kaltim because there are many complaints and we are also observing the opinions in the public,” said Bima Arya after attending the commemoration of the 30th Regional Autonomy Day at the Ministry of Home Affairs headquarters in Jakarta on Monday. He emphasised that Kemendagri continues to remind local governments to be cautious in using the APBD and to ensure that budget allocations align with the principles of efficiency. “We continue to remind them to be truly careful with the APBD and to allocate it in line with the spirit of efficiency,” he said. Bima mentioned that there are several notes from Kemendagri regarding budget management in Kaltim. Therefore, according to him, Kemendagri has deployed a team from the Inspectorate General (Irjen) and involved the Directorate General of Regional Autonomy (Ditjen Otda) to conduct monitoring and intensive communication with the local government. “Kaltim has many notes from us. We will certainly address every development. There is a team from Irjen that we have sent there, and colleagues from Otda who are also communicating and reminding,” he said. Bima Arya stressed that regional heads need to uphold the principles of efficiency and prioritise public interest in every budget policy. “In essence, the spirit of efficiency must continue to be upheld,” said Bima.