Rega N. | Papuan Observer
The government and the Papuan Special Autonomy Special Committee (Otsus) of the DPR RI continue to discuss the continuation of the Papua Special Autonomy policy which will end on November 21, 2021. Decisions must be taken immediately so that there is certainty, especially regarding the Papua Special Autonomy funds which are in danger of being stopped if the Otsus policy is not extended.
Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian explained that the government is trying to make a grand design related to Papua’s development for the next 20 years as part of the revision of Law (UU) No. 21 of 2001 on Papua’s Special Autonomy.
Minister of Home Affairs (Mendagri) Tito Karnavian revealed details of the Papua Special Autonomy Fund which is planned to be increased from 2 to 2.25 percent.
He explained that the increase in Papua Special Autonomy funds to 2.25 percent was not entirely in the form of block grants or grants from the central government that were not accompanied by certain conditions.
According to him, 1.25 percent of Papua’s special autonomy funds will be in the form of a specific grant, where later the provision of public services will be determined by the central government.
“Various parties in Papua want one percent of the block grant and 1.25 percent of the earmarked specific grant”
Earmarks refer to government policies in using budgets whose specific sources of revenue and expenditure are determined by their allocation.
Departing from that, he said that the extension and increase in Papua’s special autonomy fund had to be done in a timely manner so as not to affect the budget cycle.
He explained that the Papua Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBD) would be reduced if there was no decision to extend and increase Papua’s special autonomy fund.
According to him, this will affect the development process in Papua, both in terms of education, health, and affirmations for indigenous Papuans.
Tito also suggested that the discussion of the Bill on the Second Amendment to Law Number 21 of 2001 concerning Special Autonomy for the Papua Province could be carried out through the formation of a working committee (Panja). According to him, the formation of the committee will make the discussion more focused and technical.
For information, the government and the DPR are discussing plans to revise the Papua Special Autonomy Law. There are several points that become the focus of discussion on changes to the Papua Special Autonomy Law.
One of them is to increase the amount of Special Autonomy funds from 2 percent to 2.25 percent. In addition, there are other articles that are the focus of discussion, namely those related to Article 76 concerning the Expansion of Provinces.
