Adriana Elisabeth | LIPI Researchers
The government ensures that the Papua special autonomy fund will be extended through the Draft Law (RUU) on Amendments to Law Number 21 of 2001 concerning Special Autonomy for Papua Province. Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani said that the revision of Law 21/2001 also regulates the increase in the ceiling of the special autonomy fund allocation from two percent of the national DAU to 2.25 percent of the national DAU.
The Minister of Finance estimates that the extension of the Papua Special Autonomy fund to 2041 and an increase in its amount will require a budget of IDR 234.6 trillion. This amount is twice as large as the total Otsus fund for Papua in the last two decades, which is IDR 101.2 trillion. This calculation assumes that the General Allocation Fund (DAU) will increase to 3.02% per year based on the average development of the DAU ceiling for the last nine years.
Sri added that the extension of Papua’s special autonomy was to give the Papua Province an opportunity to catch up with other regions in Indonesia. He said several important indicators show that the Papuan people still have to face shortcomings when compared to other Indonesian citizens, including from the health side.
Referring to Community Collaboration and Services for Welfare (Kompak) data, Sri said the impact of health development for Indigenous Papuans (OAP) was 4.23 years lower than non-OAPs.
On the other hand, the impact of OAP infrastructure development is lower than that of non-OAP. Meanwhile, access to proper drinking water is 26.32% lower than the national average, access to proper sanitation is almost 50% lower.
The poverty rate for OAP is 1.7 to 1.9 times higher than that of non-OAP, while the poverty reduction rate is 1.89% slower. The government predicts that if this trend does not change, the gap in poverty levels between the two groups will widen.
“If the APBN and general transfer funds develop in accordance with the long-term plan, the special autonomy funds for the next 20 years will reach more than Rp234 trillion”
Through the period of the special autonomy fund in the next 20 years, Sri added, the central government will also provide opportunities for Papua to encourage regional independence. In particular, through strengthening of guidance and supervision, including encouraging the optimization of the potential for Regional Original Revenue (PAD).
From the data presented by Sri, the proportion of PAD to Papua’s regional income from 2015 to 2020 as a whole is only 4.86%. This contribution is very low compared to the special autonomy contribution and transfers to the regions and village funds which respectively have a proportion of 70.29% and 9.13%.
Thus, the extension of the special autonomy fund is a positive thing which is expected to increase development in Papua.
