Ramadan Safari: West Java Governor Conducts Open 'Audit' of Bekasi Regency Budget
Bekasi Regency — A Ramadan Safari event attended by West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi, commonly known as KDM, at Den Sakti Field in Sumberjaya Village, South Tambun District, turned into an open “audit” of the Bekasi Regency 2026 regional budget (APBD).
During the occasion, KDM raised a range of development issues, from river normalisation projects and chaotic spatial planning to the allocation of Bekasi Regency’s regional budget for this year.
“Road projects are visible. But dredging rivers — are you really going to go down and check? How much is the river dredging? Three kilometres long, five kilometres deep. How do you measure that? Just jump in,” KDM said in his address on Sunday.
He identified the practice of land conversion as one of the main causes of recurring flooding in Bekasi Regency. Rice paddies have been filled in for housing, reservoirs have been buried, and water catchment areas have changed function with spatial planning permits.
“Swamps filled in, reservoirs filled in, houses built. The spatial plan allowed it, the government permitted it. When the floods come — ‘Pak Dedi!’,” he said.
He noted that when rivers are to be normalised, objections frequently arise because riverbank land has already been claimed. “Flooding, but they don’t want the rivers normalised. Don’t want flooding, but the forests are cut down. Forests become settlements. Of course flooding is inevitable,” he stressed.
During the event, Dedi even called upon Acting Bekasi Regent Asep Surya Atmaja to explain the regional budget allocation. Asep stated that the Bekasi Regency APBD totalled Rp7.7 trillion and that road development allocation reached Rp1.2 trillion.
Dedi questioned this figure. “I don’t think so,” he said. However, he then expressed optimism that if the budget genuinely matched the stated amount, it could certainly be used to maximum effect for development within a year.
Closing the West Java Provincial Government’s Ramadan Safari, Dedi urged local government officials to focus on serving the public.
According to Regional Financial Information System (SIKD) data as of 21 February 2026, the Bekasi Regency APBD structure derives from regional revenue of Rp7.28 trillion, sourced from locally generated revenue, regional taxes and levies, central government transfers, and other income. Revenue realisation stood at just Rp352.68 billion, or 4.84 per cent.
Total regional expenditure reaches Rp7.703 trillion, with personnel spending at Rp3.563 trillion, followed by goods, services, capital, and other expenditure. Expenditure realisation stood at only Rp108.43 billion, or 1.41 per cent. Personnel spending remains the largest component of the 2026 budget.
Regarding road infrastructure budget allocation for this year, the Bekasi Regency Regional Development Planning Agency (Bappeda) stated at the end of 2025 that the budget for road infrastructure activities in 2026 was set at Rp230 billion, covering both regency and neighbourhood roads.
The allocation for roads with regency status amounted to Rp156 billion, earmarked for activities including road reconstruction, construction, maintenance, and widening, with a total volume of 40 kilometres.
Meanwhile, neighbourhood roads spread across 23 districts throughout Bekasi Regency were allocated Rp74.5 billion for 2026. All allocations were discussed through a tiered process, from village government level through to district and regional government levels.