Merauke, Jubi – Merauke Regent Yoseph Bladib Gebze has called for Papua’s 2027 Special Autonomy (Otsus) funds to focus on three development priorities: education, health and economic productivity.
Gebze made the statement during a meeting to finalise the 2027 Special Autonomy Budget and Program Plan (RAP Otsus) at the Merauke Regional Development, Research and Innovation Planning Agency (Bapperida) office in South Papua on Thursday, October 8, 2026.
He said the proposed programs must align with the Papua Acceleration Development Action Plan (RAPPP) and Merauke Regency’s 2025–2029 Regional Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMD).
“All regional government agencies must translate these three priorities into programs according to their respective duties and functions: Smart Papua, Healthy Papua and Productive Papua,” Gebze said.
He stressed that the priorities must be backed by measurable targets and indicators, allowing the government to assess whether programs funded through Special Autonomy allocations were improving people’s lives.
Gebze said achieving the Healthy Papua goal, for example, should not be the sole responsibility of the health department. Other government agencies must also contribute to disease prevention and related initiatives within their respective areas of responsibility.
“Healthy Papua is not just the responsibility of the Health Department. Preventive, curative and rehabilitative efforts must be supported collectively,” he said.
Gebze called on all regional government agencies to coordinate their planning, warning that fragmented programs would not be enough to meet development targets.
He also urged agencies to use indicators set out in the regional development plan to measure progress, including school participation rates in the education sector.
“We need to look at the figures and see whether there has been an improvement. These indicators will also form part of evaluations by the provincial and central governments,” he said.
Gebze said tighter fiscal conditions, including efficiency measures affecting transfers to regional governments, made it increasingly important to ensure public spending was targeted and measurable.
He said Special Autonomy funds must be used effectively to address community needs, with all programs aligned with the regional development plan and the RAPPP.
Agency heads, program officials and planning staff were urged to become involved from the outset to ensure projects could be properly planned, monitored and evaluated for their impact.
Gebze said the results would need to be accounted for to the regional administration, the Merauke Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) and the central government.
Bapperida is conducting the finalisation process through separate review sessions with each regional government agency from Thursday, October 8, to Tuesday, October 13, 2026.
Merauke Bapperida head Benhur Rentandatu said the reviews were intended to ensure each agency had identified project locations, established targets and prepared supporting documentation.
He urged agencies to develop programs based on community needs and development priorities rather than their own preferences.
“The regional budget is not just about how much money we have. What matters most is what we can deliver for the community,” Rentandatu said. (*)
