North Sumatra Governor rejects OPD project proposals that inflate the budget
Medan, North Sumatra — North Sumatra Governor Bobby Nasution has refused to sign several project submissions from regional government agencies (OPD) on grounds they are irrational and appear to inflate the budget.
This occurred since he was declared the winner of the 2024 North Sumatra gubernatorial election by the North Sumatra General Election Commission (KPU). “Many parties have approached and tried to push through various projects by asking for approval,” Bobby said at the North Sumatra Governor’s Office on Thursday, 21 May. “However, some proposals from OPDs within the North Sumatra provincial government have made me furious because the documents for many projects are suddenly on my desk without going through planning, evaluation, and open briefing.”
“Some people come to wish me congratulations, then ask for signatures. I say, ‘what is this project? Why is it suddenly on my desk?’” He said.
One project highlighted by him is the construction of a physical building in North Sumatra with a budget value of Rp484 billion. According to him, the project was never presented in detail, neither the construction concept nor the budget particulars. “The building was never explained, never exposed, but suddenly asked to be signed. The value runs into hundreds of billions. I reject,” said Bobby.
The governor also emphasised that he does not want to approve a project without clear study, especially if the budget seems overpriced. He said he would be stricter in examining all project submissions from OPDs within the North Sumatra Provincial Government to prevent budget waste or project manipulation.
“I will not sign if the process is unclear. Everything must be transparent, and sensible,” Bobby said.
He explained that this sends a strong signal to OPDs within the N Sumatra provincial government not to submit projects that appear irregular or rely on political proximity to secure budget approval. “Every development programme must truly benefit the people, not merely squander the regional budget,” Bobby said.