NTB's Revised Budget Predicted to Face Rp 300 Billion Deficit, Regional Secretary Claims Employee Salaries Are Safe

The Revised Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBD-P) of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) for 2026 is predicted to face a deficit of up to Rp 300 billion due to limited fiscal space. Nevertheless, NTB Regional Secretary Abul Chair has claimed that the allocation for employee spending, including salaries and additional employee income (TPP), remains secure.

Abul Chair revealed that employee spending is the main component being prioritised amid budget adjustments. This assurance also covers the entitlements of 9,411 part-time Government Employees with Work Agreements (PPPK) who were inaugurated in December 2025.

“God willing, that is what we secure first. Employee spending must be the primary expenditure,” said Abul Chair when contacted on Tuesday (11/8/2026).

Regarding the potential Rp 300 billion deficit, Abul Chair stressed that the figure is not yet final because the drafting of the Revised APBD is still being worked on by the Regional Government Budget Team (TAPD) together with the NTB Regional People’s Representative Council (DPRD). According to him, adjustments are being made by realigning revenue targets and spending allocations.

“This is the Revised APBD plan. An APBD has expenditure and revenue. When the revenue plan does not match what was originally planned, then the expenditure plan must also adjust,” he added.

Abul Chair said the spending adjustment is being carried out through the application of a priority scale. A number of programmes deemed non-urgent, including physical projects, are likely to be reduced or postponed. The budget formulation produced by the TAPD will be discussed with the NTB DPRD before being approved.

“This does not mean they will not be implemented; they may simply be postponed. Or what was supposed to be implemented at 10, we implement 8 first. We are still working on it,” he said.

Separately, NTB Provincial Government Spokesperson Ahsanul Halik revealed that the region’s fiscal space is limited because the realisation of Revenue Sharing Funds (DBH) from the central government is far below the initial assumption. The underpaid DBH entitlement for NTB was originally estimated to reach Rp 616 billion. However, the transfer information received by the region was only in the range of tens of billions.

“The information we received is that we (the NTB Provincial Government) will receive a transfer of only around Rp 13.3 billion. This means the region’s fiscal space must be recalculated carefully,” said Ahsanul, who is also Head of the NTB Communication, Informatics and Statistics Agency.

The NTB Provincial Government is now recalculating its spending scheme so that the structure of the Revised APBD does not rely on speculative revenue assumptions. Programmes that directly impact the public as well as mandatory spending are ensured to be safe, while supporting activities will be strictly evaluated.

“If fiscal space is limited, priorities must become sharper. There should be no ego in defending programmes that are not very important, while we forget how to keep the APBD healthy,” concluded Ahsanul.