Papua Special Autonomy Fund Increases to 2.25%

The chairman of the Special Autonomy Special Committee for Papua, Komarudin Watubun, said that the Papuan People (OAP) requested an increase in the Papua Special Autonomy Fund from 2% to 2.25%. He hopes that the increase in the special autonomy fund is actually allocated entirely for the welfare of local residents.

"The Papua Special Autonomy Fund will be received by the regional government through General Revenue and Performance-Based Revenue. For performance-based ones, 30% are for education and 20% are for health," said Komarudin at the Plenary Session of Session V for Session Year 2020-2021 at the DPR MPR Building. Senayan Jakarta, Thursday (15/7/2021).

He said that the allocation from the increase in Papua Special Autonomy funds would later be received by the Regional Government in Papua (Papua Province and West Papua Province).

He further revealed that the distribution of the Papua Special Autonomy Fund must take into account the number of OAP, the level of geographical difficulty, and the different infrastructure in each district and city area in Papua Province and West Papua Province.

The articles in the Draft Law (RUU) concerning the Second Amendment to Law Number 21 of 2001 concerning Special Autonomy for the Papua Province (Otsus Papua) to Law Number 21 of 2021 concerning Special Autonomy for the Papua Province also accommodates prioritizing the rights of Indigenous Papuans in matters of politics, education, health, as well as priority in business in Papua.

With the changes to the Special Autonomy Fund, Komarudin Watubun hopes that various problems in the acceleration of Papua's development can be resolved. In addition, he asked that the completion of the Special Regional Regulations in Perdasi and Perdasus could be arranged no later than within the next year.

"The Special Committee together with the government will synchronize the acceleration of Papua's development, chaired by the Vice President, Minister of Home Affairs, Minister of Finance, and Bapenas and representatives from regional heads in Papua can make development efficient. This is also a form of the presence of the central government in Papua," said Komarudin Watubun.

SOURCE : https://nasional.sindonews.com/read/483778/12/uu-baru-dihkan-dana-otsus-papua-naik-225-1626329246