Winda R. | Papuan Observer
Regional expansion is the Government’s strategy to accelerate development in Papua. With this policy, state services will be more optimal and development will be more easily realized.
The geographical extent of an area is one of the reasons why regional expansion must be carried out. If an area is too large, it is feared that public services will be ineffective and inefficient. Regional expansion with reasons to improve services can also be done by bringing services closer to the community.
Bapenas has reviewed that one of the arguments in favor of pemekaran is, among other things, the need to overcome the long distance between the government and the people in the span of control.
“Shorter spans of control and more equitable fiscal allocations should be the basic capital for service improvement in each region, especially the expansion areas”
One of the areas that is being discussed will experience expansion is Papua, because the region has a very wide geographical area so that people need days to access facilities built by the government, such as education or health facilities.
The government’s discourse regarding the expansion of the Papua province to create equity and accelerate development was also welcomed by Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Azis Syamsuddin. He assessed that the division must be carried out comprehensively and meet the requirements that have been regulated and determined regarding the procedures for the formation, elimination and merging of autonomous regions.
Azis said that the consideration of the proposed expansion of the province in Papua can be seen from the geopolitical and geostrategic aspects. Decentralization is expected to create prosperity, reduce poverty and make it easier for the community to manage administration.
The politician from the Golkar party faction said that the economy should not only be concentrated in certain areas, but must reach the mountains of Papua and other areas. He considered that there should be no more Papuans who have to travel for days just to take care of administrative files because the distance is quite far.
Papuan leader Wilem Frans Ansanay said the characteristics of the land of Papua were different from other regions. One example is that the area of one district in Papua is the same as one province on the island of Java.
According to him, Papua must be taken seriously, especially in the health sector. It’s just that a number of problems in Papua are still encountered, areas close to the province are still lacking, what about other areas.
Wilem emphasized that the budget allocation for health is around 15%. In fact, the health sector should reach 25% or 50%. He added that the revision of law (UU) number 21 of 2001 on Papua’s Special Autonomy (Otsus) regulates a number of aspects. Among other things, reinforce the plan for regional expansion or the provincial government in Papua.
Furthermore, Willem said, if there are millennials who shout differently from the Indonesian government, don’t blame them. The reason is, they do not get good service or do not arrive. In fact, he continued, if this condition continues, it could be a disaster for the Indonesian people.
