Papua has long stood at the crossroads of Indonesia’s development agenda. With its breathtaking landscapes and cultural richness, the region also bears complex challenges: limited access to healthcare, uneven education quality, difficult geographic conditions, and the persistent question of how to make Otonomi Khusus (Special Autonomy, or Otsus) funding truly effective for its people. Against this backdrop, the Badan Pengarah Percepatan Pembangunan Otonomi Khusus Papua (Steering Committee for the Acceleration of Special Autonomy Development in Papua, BP3OKP) has stepped forward with a renewed urgency, determined to make development in Tanah Papua not just a promise on paper but a reality on the ground.
On 18 September 2025, after nearly a year of waiting for a formal audience, BP3OKP leaders finally met with Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka—who by regulation also serves as chairman of BP3OKP. That meeting became a turning point, as the agency presented three strategic concepts that it believes are vital to speed up development. It was not just a list of bureaucratic requests but a call for deeper commitment, stronger institutions, and more responsive funding.
Three Strategic Concepts: A Roadmap for Papua
At the heart of BP3OKP’s agenda are three main pillars:
Signing the Papua Development Acceleration Action Plan (RAPP) 2025–2030.
- The proposed action plan seeks to create a unified roadmap for the next five years. Instead of fragmented programs across ministries, provinces, and districts, the RAPP would harmonize all initiatives—from infrastructure and education to healthcare and local economic empowerment. By setting shared goals and measurable targets, BP3OKP envisions a coordinated approach that prevents overlapping and wastage.
- Appointment of the Vice President’s Executive Secretary (Setwapres). According to Presidential Regulation No. 121/2022, the Vice President chairs BP3OKP alongside key ministers (Home Affairs, Finance, and National Development Planning) and six provincial representatives. Yet, without a dedicated executive secretary role, coordination has often been slow. BP3OKP argues that formalizing these “seat warmers” is crucial to make communication between Jakarta and Papua smoother, cutting through layers of bureaucracy.
- Recruitment of full membership for the Working Groups (Pokja). The backbone of BP3OKP’s operations lies in its working groups—Papua Sehat (Health), Papua Cerdas (Education), Papua Produktif (Economy), and Papua Polhukam (Politics, Law, and Security). But in places like Papua Pegunungan, only a handful of people shoulder responsibilities that stretch across vast, mountainous terrain. To make these teams effective, BP3OKP has called for each Pokja to have five full members, allowing for more hands, better expertise, and greater coverage across districts.
These three proposals may sound administrative, but for Papua, they represent the difference between policies trapped in Jakarta’s offices and programs that actually reach remote villages.
The Institutional Challenge: Building a Stronger Foundation
For decades, Papua’s development narrative has been complicated by fragmented governance and weak institutional support. Otsus was supposed to correct this by granting additional funding and greater autonomy. Yet, without strong local institutions, funds often went underutilized—or worse, misdirected.
BP3OKP’s existence is meant to change that. By design, it acts as a supervisory and coordinating body, ensuring that Otsu’s resources are aligned with local aspirations. But since its establishment in 2022, it has wrestled with gaps: incomplete Pokja memberships, unclear communication lines, and slow decision-making at the national level.
The September 2025 meeting with Vice President Gibran was therefore symbolic. For the first time, BP3OKP’s regional leaders had the ear of their chairman. Hantor Matuan, representing Papua Pegunungan, described it as “a meeting awaited for 11 months.” His statement underscored how urgent the coordination gap has been—and why BP3OKP insists on institutional strengthening before anything else.
Health and Education: The Frontlines of Development
While institutional reform sets the stage, the real measure of success lies in improving daily life. BP3OKP has consistently flagged health and education as the two most pressing sectors in Papua.
- Healthcare
Papua’s geography—rugged mountains, remote islands, limited transport—makes healthcare delivery a logistical nightmare. Many communities are hours or even days away from the nearest clinic. For mothers giving birth or children needing urgent care, this gap can be life-threatening.
BP3OKP has gathered inputs from across districts, highlighting demands for new health facilities, better-trained medical staff, and improved outreach to remote villages. “Papua Sehat” is more than a slogan; it is a necessity. Without healthier communities, no amount of infrastructure will translate into real progress.
- Education
In education, the challenges are equally daunting. Dropout rates remain high, while the quality of schooling varies widely. Scholarships like the Beasiswa Siswa Unggul Papua (Papua Distinguished Student Scholarship) provide opportunities, but inconsistent funding limits their reach.
BP3OKP’s “Papua Cerdas” initiative aims not only to expand access but also to raise standards. The agency has urged the central government to increase Otsus allocations specifically for education, arguing that no investment yields a higher return than in human capital. As one official noted, “Without educated Papuans, we cannot speak of sustainable development.”
The Otsus Question: Funding and Accountability
Funding remains the most contentious issue. Papua receives special autonomy funds that are meant to bridge its development gap with the rest of Indonesia. Yet, BP3OKP and provincial leaders argue that the allocations are still insufficient given the scale of challenges.
A recurring problem has been SiLPA—unspent funds at the end of the fiscal year. When budgets are not absorbed on time, they risk being reduced in subsequent years. This is not just a technical matter; it directly translates into stalled clinics, unfinished schools, or unbuilt roads.
BP3OKP has therefore urged provinces to prepare early, plan carefully, and ensure funds are spent where they matter most. The call is as much about accountability as it is about efficiency. In the words of Yosep Yolmen, a Papua official, “Otsus 2026 must be absorbed with precision. There is no room for waste.”
Central Government Response: Signs of Momentum
Encouragingly, Vice President Gibran responded positively to BP3OKP’s proposals. Reports from Jayapura suggest that he welcomed the three concepts and signaled readiness to issue the necessary decrees—both for appointing the vice president’s executive secretary and for formalizing full Pokja memberships.
The government is also reviewing budget allocations. Education and health are likely to receive additional Otsus funding while the RAPP 2025–2030 is being finalized to provide a clear development framework for the next half-decade.
If implemented, these steps could mark a turning point. Instead of piecemeal programs, Papua might finally see a coherent, institutionally backed, and properly funded development drive.
The Human Side of the Story
For ordinary Papuans, these policy discussions may seem distant. Yet their impact is deeply personal. A mother in Yahukimo waiting for a midwife, a student in Wamena hoping for a scholarship, a farmer in Merauke needing market access—each is affected by how well Otsus funds are managed and how quickly BP3OKP’s plans move from paper to practice.
This is why the narrative of “Papua Sehat, Cerdas, dan Produktif” resonates. It paints a vision of Papuans who are healthy enough to work, educated enough to innovate, and supported enough to thrive in their homeland.
Challenges Ahead
Despite the wave of optimism that followed BP3OKP’s proposals, a series of formidable challenges remain. The first is geography itself. Papua’s rugged mountains, vast forests, and scattered islands make it extraordinarily difficult to deliver services equitably. In such conditions, innovative solutions—ranging from telemedicine to mobile schools and localized economic hubs—become not just desirable but essential. At the same time, the machinery of governance poses its own obstacles. Institutional inertia, particularly delays in issuing decrees or recruiting full membership for the working groups, risks slowing momentum just when speed is most needed. Transparency and accountability also stand as critical tests. Without strict oversight, Otsus funds risk becoming entangled in bureaucratic inefficiency or, worse, corruption, undermining public trust in the very programs meant to uplift them. Finally, there is the challenge of coordination. With so many actors involved—central ministries in Jakarta, provincial governments, and BP3OKP itself—progress depends heavily on sustained political will and constant communication. None of these hurdles are minor. Yet with committed leadership and consistent follow-through, they are far from insurmountable.
Conclusion
BP3OKP’s call for acceleration is more than a bureaucratic adjustment—it is a demand for justice in development. Papua, with its unique challenges and immense potential, deserves institutions that function, budgets that work, and programs that change lives.
The three pillars—RAPP 2025–2030, stronger institutions, and full working groups—offer a roadmap. The push for larger, better-managed Otsus funds addresses the lifeblood of these programs. And the focus on health, education, and productivity anchors development where it matters most: in the daily lives of Papuans.
As Vice President Gibran and the government consider BP3OKP’s proposals, the hope is clear: that this time, promises turn into practice, and Papua’s future is written not just in policy documents but in healthier children, smarter students, and more prosperous communities.