DPD RI and Ministry of Finance RI agree to extend Papua's special autonomy for 20 years and special autonomy budget of 2.25 percent

Committee I DPD RI and the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia agreed to extend the Papua Special Autonomy for 20 years with an increase in the special autonomy fund allocation to 2.25 percent for 20 years related to the limited revision of Law Number 21 of 2001 concerning Special Autonomy for Papua Province as a solution to accelerate development and prosperity in Papua.

This was revealed in the Working Meeting of Committee I DPD RI with the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia regarding the limited revision of the Papua Special Autonomy Law, especially regarding the Special Autonomy Fund (261). This meeting presented Sri Mulyani, Minister of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia and his staff. This Working Meeting was chaired by Fachrul Razi (Chair), accompanied by, Abdul Kholik (Deputy Chair II), Fernando Sinaga (Deputy Chair III), and attended by members of Committee I including Filep Wamafma (West Papua), Otopipanus P. Tebay (Papua ), Agustin Teras Narang (Central Kalimantan), Leonardy Harmainy Dt. Bandaro Basa (West Sumatra), Lily Salurapa (South Sulawesi), Ahmad Sukisman Azmy (NTB), Husein Alting Sjah (North Maluku), Sabam Sirait (DKI Jakarta), Abaraham Liyanto (NTT), Maria Goreti (West Kalimantan), Badikenita Sitepu ( North Sumatra), Dewa Putu Ardika (Southeast Sulawesi), Hudarni Rani (Babel), Sabam Sirait (DKI Jakarta), Abdul Rachman Thaha (Central Sulawesi), Abdurrahman Abubakar Bahmid (Gorontalo), Richard Hamonangan Pasaribu (Kepri), and Arya Wedakarna (Bali) .

In the Raker, Chairman of Committee I DPD RI Fachrul Razi stated that the DPD RI and the Government also agreed to escort the limited revision process of Law Number 21 of 2001 concerning Special Autonomy for Papua Province so that it can have an optimal, fair and accountable impact for the acceleration of development in Papua. .

As it is known, the draft limited revision of the Special Autonomy Law will soon be discussed jointly between the Government, DPR RI, and DPD RI. The Second Amendment Draft of the Special Autonomy Law contains three amended Articles, namely: 1) Article 1 letter a regarding the meaning and definition; 2) Article 34 concerning: sources of revenue and sources of revenue for the province and district / city, the Balancing Fund, the validity period, Perdasus, Supervision, Guidance, and revenue management; and 3) Article 76 concerning the Expansion of the Papua Province.

In his remarks, Senator Fachrul Razi, who comes from Aceh, explained that the problems that occur in Papua cannot be separated from the problems of the Republic of Indonesia, indeed, economically, socially and politically, Papua is still left behind with other regions. Therefore, the Special Autonomy Fund must be able to be optimized for the acceleration of the development of Papua, which in the Special Autonomy Law is 2% of the General Allocation Fund. And now in 2021, the effectiveness of the Special Autonomy Fund will end, therefore the Government has proposed a draft of the second amendment to the Special Autonomy Law that has been accepted by the DPD RI.
"Hopefully this revision can answer various problems that exist in Papua not only to prolong the effectiveness of the Special Autonomy Fund"

Meanwhile, Senator Filep, who comes from West Papua, reminded the importance of revising the Special Autonomy Law, especially the Special Autonomy Fund so that it is right on target and protects the interests of indigenous Papuans. The same thing was conveyed by Senator Otopianus Tabay from Papua who asked the Ministry of Finance to continue to pay attention to the history of adat in Papua where Papua has 7 customary territories.

"The revision of the Special Autonomy Law is not limited to a limited revision and is carried out but must pay attention to and be based on proposals from the Papuan people, especially the DPRP and MRP," he said.

Meanwhile, in his presentation Sri Mulyani emphasized the evaluation of funding and the achievements of the Special Autonomy Fund development. Development that has not fully provided benefits and protection for the indigenous Papuan community (OAP) and has not been optimal in reducing inequality and improving living standards is the basis for the provision of the Special Autonomy Fund in Papua within the framework of the Republic of Indonesia. Sri Mulyani continued that the Special Autonomy Fund and DTI since the last 20 years (Papua and West Papua) amounted to 138.56 trillion for the period 2002-2021, Financial Transfers and Village Funds amounting to 702.3 trillion, and Ministry / Institutional expenditures amounting to 251 trillion. Therefore, the limited revision will be directed at improving the governance and policies of Otsus in the future (Dana Otsus).

This Working Meeting ended at 13.00 with an understanding that the Revision of the Special Autonomy Law is very important for the acceleration of Papuan development. This Working Meeting ended with the conclusion of the first meeting, Committee I DPD RI and the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia agreed on the need for continuous evaluation of the Papua Special Autonomy Fund starting from planning, governance design, implementation of good governance, distribution, to its impacts and benefits.

Second, Committee I DPD RI and the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia agreed on the need to make the Special Autonomy Fund funding scheme more equitable while still paying attention to the specificities of indigenous Papuans (affirmations) accompanied by strengthening institutional capacity and more effective supervision.

Third, Committee I DPD RI and the Government agreed to oversee the process of limited revision of Law Number 21 of 2001 concerning Special Autonomy for Papua Province so that it can have an optimal, fair and accountable impact for the acceleration of development in Papua.

Source: https://siberone.com/news/detail/2266/ketua-komite-i-dpd-ri-dpd-ri-dan-kemenkeu-ri-sepakat-perppanjang-otsus-papua-20-tahun-dan- budget-otsus-225-percent