West Papua Governor Mandacan: Special autonomy is quite successful

Manokwari (ANTARA) – West Papua Governor Dominggus Mandacan stated that the special autonomy policies and programs launched by the central government for Papua and West Papua provinces were quite successful.

“Special autonomy has been quite successful in developing Papua, both in the education, health and infrastructure development sectors,” said Dominggus Mandacan in Manokwari, Tuesday.

In the field of education, said Dominggus, quite a lot of Papuan children who go to school and study are funded through special autonomy funds (autonomy), both at home and abroad. In the health sector, the special autonomy fund is beneficial for improving services both in cities and in remote and remote areas.

Through the special autonomy fund, the governor continued, the regional government will build road infrastructure, bridges, and other facilities and infrastructure, including empowerment programs for indigenous Papuans.

However, according to the head of the Arfak tribe, there needs to be an evaluation so that the program and utilization of the special autonomy fund in this area is more optimal.

“The weakness of the government, especially in the regions, is that maybe we don’t have enough exposure to various media about development programs or activities carried out through the special autonomy fund, so that not many people know about the utilization of this special autonomy fund,” said the governor.

Mandacan invites the public to support the second volume of the Special Autonomy program which will be continued in 2022. West Papua still needs a special autonomy policy to accelerate development in various sectors.

“Currently, many of our children and younger siblings are studying at various universities abroad and in several regions in Indonesia. They are financed through special autonomy funds, let’s support them,” he said.

The special autonomy program for Papua will end in 2021. The local government is currently pushing for regulations on the sustainability of the special autonomy program in 2022 and beyond.

The Governor of West Papua hopes that the central government will give greater authority to the regions in the management of human resources (HR) and natural resources (SDA).