New Provinces in Papua Need Support

The three new provinces in Papua need support in carrying out their activities as local governments since they have a lot of preparatory work.

MARINA EKATARI

Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian inaugurated three new provinces in the Papua region at the Ministry of Home Affairs office, Jakarta, on Friday (11/11/2022), The three new provinces are South Papua, Central Papua, and Papua Highlands.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Home Minister Tito Karnavian asked the acting governors of the three new provinces in Papua, who were sworn in on Friday (11/11/2022) in Jakarta, to ensure political stability and security in the new autonomous regions.

They are expected to manage Papua's special autonomy funds. Stability is seen as the main condition for the development of the three new provinces in Papua, namely South Papua, Central Papua and Papua Highlands, which were officially inaugurated on Friday.

For this reason, civil society has reminded the central government to assist the three new regional governments in Papua in monitoring and implementing the program. As stated by the executive director of the Monitoring Committee for the Implementation of Regional Autonomy (KPPOD) Herman Suparman on Friday (11/11), the assistance is important considering the process of forming the provinces of South Papua, Central Papua and Papua Mountains is different from other provinces.

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Herman said, according to Law No. 2 of 2021 concerning the Second Amendment to Law No. 21/2001 on Special Autonomy for Papua Province, the formation of a new autonomous region in Papua did not go through a three-year preparation period as mandated by Law No. 23/2014 on Regional Government. "There is no preparation period for this new autonomous region (in Papua), it will be definitive," he said.

Therefore, according to Herman, the central government needs to issue government regulations or ministerial regulations as guidelines and supervision for the three new provinces.

Papuan native

For the three new provinces in Papua, Tito appointed Apolo Safanpo as acting governor of South Papua, Ribka Haluk as acting governor of Central Papua and Nikolaus Kondomo as acting governor of Papua Highlands. Apart from being native Papuans, Tito believes that the three individuals have experience in maintaining political stability and security in Papua.

Apolo Safanpo, for example, once served as rector of Cenderawasih University, Papua. Nikolaus Kondomo is former head of the Papua High Prosecutor's Office, while Ribka Haluk last held the position of acting regent of Yalimo, Papua.

KOMPAS/FABIO MARIA LOPES COSTA

Ribka Haluk

Especially for Ribka, Tito continued, her capacity has been tested while serving as Yalimo regent in 2020. Ribka served in the midst of the 2020 Regional Head Election (Pilkada) dispute, which led to conflict and violence in the community. "Under her leadership, the 2020 Pilkada dispute was resolved," said Tito.

Until now, Papua in general is overshadowed by violence. Between January and July 2022, there were 45 attacks by armed criminal groups (KKB) in Papua (Kompas.id, 18/7/2022). Previously, throughout 2021, there were 92 cases of violence that resulted in 34 deaths (Kompas.id, 23/12/2021).

Tito said, if political stability could be ensured, the government would be able to carry out development programs that were in accordance with the challenges in their respective regions.

Tito also asked the three acting governors to manage the special autonomy funds to bring prosperity to the Papuan people. “The special autonomy fund has been increased from 2 percent to 2.25 percent of the general allocation fund. The existing budget should be used properly for the benefit of the people," said Tito.

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Regarding the government in the new autonomous regions, Deputy Home Minister John Wempi Wetipo revealed that the number of civil servants (ASN) was still insufficient. For one province, at least 1,056 civil servants are needed but cannot be fulfilled from Papua. However, the new governments should not wait until all positions are filled to carry out their activities.

"We will go first with the existing ones so that the preparation of the 2023 local state budget can be carried out. Next week we will start working,” he said.

Mastering the data

To accelerate development in the three new provinces, the head of the Papua Peace Network, Septer Manufandu, said that each new provincial government needed to master micro data. The acting governors should have a reference in planning development so that it has an impact on increasing the human development index (HDI) in the three provinces. For example, eight districts in Papua Mountains have a low HDI status of below 60.

According to the director of Amnesty International Indonesia, Usman Hamid, the other most important thing is that all allegations of state violence and allegations of human rights violations in Papua should be resolved through law enforcement.

This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi.