JAYAPURA—To anticipate the impact of budget efficiency, the Papua Provincial Government has prepared several strategies. One of them is optimizing the Regional Original Revenue of IDR 447 billion to finance routine office operational expenditures and maintain the stability of public services.

This was said by the Acting Head of the Papua Regional Financial and Asset Management Agency (BPKAD), Alexander Kapisa. He admitted that his party had also coordinated with the Ministry of Finance to optimize the Special Autonomy funds of 1 percent and 1.25 percent to close the fiscal gap due to budget cuts.

"We are mapping financing sources so the infrastructure programs affected by cuts can continue. The Infrastructure Transfer Fund (DTI) is a mainstay because it is not affected by efficiency," said Kapisa.

He added that the DTI Fund will be focused on financing important infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, electricity, and telecommunications.

"Even though the budget is limited, the government ensures that these projects continue to run, even on a smaller scale," he said.

Of the 40 regional apparatus organizations (OPD) in Papua, the Public Works Office (PU) is the most affected due to infrastructure budget cuts. The cuts also have an impact on regional apparatus organizations that use Special Autonomy funds.

"Strategic programs must still be prioritized. We prioritize the Free Nutritious Meal program, the fulfillment of the Minimum Service Standards (SPM) in the fields of education and health, and the handling of stunting," said Kapisa. ***