Theo Kelen, Jayapura, Jubi – The central government must trust the regional government to manage the Papua Special Autonomy (Otsus) Fund to build human resources, the economy, and empower Papuan people, said head of the West Papua Regional Development Planning Agency Dance Sangkek.

According to Sangkek, the drafting process of Law No. 2/2021 on the Second Amendment to the Papua Special Autonomy Law (Revision of the Papua Special Autonomy Law) suggested there was distrust by the central government towards regional governments in Papua. For example, Sangkek said, the revised law stipulated that the financing scheme was determined unilaterally by the central government, while the local governments had no say in determining the allocation fund of Otsus.

"Where exactly does the deliberation for allocation of the Special Autonomy Fund happen? Is it in Jakarta, in the middle between Jakarta and Papua, or is it in the [Papua]province? Trust needs to be built," he said during a webinar "Looking at Papua 20 Years Ahead" held by the National Development Planning Agency on Thursday, December 9, 2021.

Sangkek said that after the implementation of Law No. 2/2021, a number of programs that were previously financed by the Special Autonomy Fund managed by the Provincial Government of West Papua could not be continued.

"For example, the West Papua Provincial Government usually transfers funds directly to the districts, to the villages. Other than that, the [program] to empower Indigenous Papuan entrepreneurs, as well as the direct appointment of Papuans in the military and health service through Otsus, can no longer be done," he said.

Sangkek said the provincial government must be given the authority at managing Otsus funds for better coordination on joint policies and programs in cities and regencies. That way, the implementation of special autonomy funds can be optimized down to the village level.

Meanwhile, the National Development Planning Agency's deputy of Monitoring, Evaluation, and Control of Development, Taufik Hanafi, said that the preparation of the Master Plan for the Acceleration of Development for Papua 2022-2041 was an important moment for the state to encourage the development in Papua for a more advanced and prosperous Papua, on par with other regions in Indonesia.

"For this reason, it is necessary to establish a master plan that is right on target and synergized with development goals and ideals as stated in the 1945 Constitution, and in line with sustainable development goals, Indonesia's 2045 vision, and other development planning documents," he said.

Source: https://en.jubi.co.id/govt-must-trust-local-govt-in-papua-to-manage-special-autonomy-fund