The central government has always put extra concern in developing Papua. Not to mention Papua has all the potential to grow both for the Papua DOB governance system and the economic aspect.
In order to reach that goal, the central government has already created 4 DOB, also known as New Autonomous Regions. The minister of Home Affairs, Tito Karnavian, expanded Papua into four new regions on November 2022.
Those regions are South Papua, Central Papua, West Papua, and Papua Pegunungan. The 4 DOB later becomes the government’s main focus to spur growth.
What does The Government Plan for 4 New Regions?
The government commits to advancing DOB in Papua to a greater form. However, it also means a lot of changes are about to happen.
Thus, what does the central government prepare for the new regions in Papua?
In addition to the planning of giving the DOB advancement, the Ministry of Home Affairs commits to guide the process until 2022.
There are several plans to accommodate the growth of the new regions.
1. Improving Governance and Public Service
The difficult access and the extremely undeveloped area make it harder to coordinate between the central government and the region’s government.
Hence, by expanding and creating new regions, the DOB Papua effect will allow the autonomous law to create a better system for each region.
The head of The House of Representatives, Bambang Soesatyo, expressed his concern that they need excellent governors to direct each region’s advancement fully.
However, the election is still two years ahead until 2024. Hence, the Ministry of Affair, Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of National Development Planning/National Development Planning Agency collaborated to execute the plan until they had new governors.
2. Provides Better Access to Road Construction and Transportation
Secondly, it is to provide better access to road construction and transportation access.
The three ministries also try to prepare the three new regions and one expansion city to be ready in terms of preparing the region’s budget, mapping the human resources, and improving the development index.
What Urgency Created This Advancement?
In terms of the development index, Papua once had the lowest index in three consecutive years. In addition, many isolated areas cannot have the bare minimum access.
Despite the potential to become an economic center in Indonesia, Papua lacks human resources that can manage and develop the region.
Seeing those concerns, it is why the Ministry of Home Affairs accelerated the region’s expansion and guarded it until 2024. They cannot leave one of the beloved parts of Indonesia behind. Moreover, the potential is essential for Papua’s growth.
Even though the new DOB Papua system does not meet the constitutional requirements, it is still in process. Requirements like having a minimum of five districts made a big change by giving the region autonomous law.
What Positive Impact does Regional Expansion Have?
The regional expansion was accelerated, even though it did not meet the requirements in the constitution. However, there are already positive changes once the 4 DOBs start to develop.
Sorong and Manokwari have now become cities and not a district anymore. For example, the growth in Manokwari is outstanding. The city now becomes the West Papua capital. Moreover, some isolated areas also gain better access after road construction.
The governance is also getting better with the new administrative office. The same goes for Sorong and other planned cities in the new regions.
Moreover, as the Minister of Affairs, Tito is optimistic that Papua’s growth will follow the success of Gorontalo and Central Sulawesi.
Hence, he urged the people to anticipate with an optimistic view for an eager change. Tito believes Papua DOB governance will grow and develop even further than expectations if they meet everything that created a good region.
