Jakarta – Regional development is an integral part of national development whose implementation must run in sync. Therefore, in order to synchronize the policies of the central government and local governments in the Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) sector, PWYP Indonesia, in collaboration with the Directorate General of Regional Development (Ditjen Bina Bangda) of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the ESDM sub-directorate, developed a technical guide (tool) for the preparation of regional strategic planning and programs, especially in the ESDM sector.

Tavip Rubiyanto, Directorate General of Regional Development (Ditjen Bina Bangda), Ministry of Home Affairs, in the opening of the online technical meeting held on Thursday (17/2), explained that the initiative for the preparation of this technical guide was explicitly aimed at identifying regional contributions to national development indicators, both macro and sectoral. It is hoped that this guide can be a reference for the Directorate General of Regional Development and the Department of Energy and Mineral Resources in preparing a better regional strategic program plan document.

“Thirty-two (32) local government affairs are concurrently carried out by regional offices, one of which is the Energy and Mineral Resources Office. In this context, the Department of Energy and Mineral Resources has the responsibility to support the achievement of its regional and sectoral development targets.” Tavip said.

In addition, Tavip Rubiyanto also explained that effective development plans such as the National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) and the Regional Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMD) must be translated in a more measurable, targeted, and targeted manner. It includes strategic plans for regional apparatuses following the norms, standards, procedures, and criteria (NSPK) for regional development planning. Thus, it will generate added value for programs/activities in the Energy and Mineral Resources sector and calculate the regional Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP).

Regional development is a manifestation of the implementation of government affairs submitted to the regions as an integral part of national development. The division of government affairs is based on Law Number 23 of 2014, which divides whole affairs (which are carried out by the Central Government) and concurrent government affairs, which are handed over to the regional apparatus as the basis for implementing regional autonomy following the characteristics and potential of each region.

However, the discourse on efforts to synchronize development between the center and the regions is still limited to qualitative topics and has not focused on the context of achieving quantitative development targets. Thus, PWYP Indonesia, together with the Directorate General of Regional Development, sees the importance of this effort as a form of concrete work that needs to be carried out between the central and regional governments and civil society.

Aryanto Nugroho, National Coordinator of PWYP Indonesia, in his speech, explained that this collaboration is intended to jointly pursue a more progressive and measurable improvement in Energy and Mineral Resources sector governance, both at the central and regional levels.

“What needs to be clarified is how to achieve regional development targets, and if they cannot be achieved, what alternatives can be taken following the authority and potential of each region,” Aryanto said.

Furthermore, Aryanto also added that currently, there is a momentum where Indonesia is hosting the G20. So, “if we can produce something concrete with the role of local governments to encourage improvements in governance in line with the national plan, the presence of this guide is expected to facilitate joint work in the future.”

In general, the Technical Guidelines for the Preparation of Regional Strategic Plans for the Energy and Mineral Resources Sector are tools built to assist state civil servants (ASN) in the regions in (i) compiling the Regional Strategic Plan for the Energy and Mineral Resources Sector and (ii) analyzing the achievement of sectoral and macroeconomic targets from the prepared plans. These tools were developed using spreadsheet-based software, making them easy to operate and use by regional civil servants.

In preparing the technical guide, it is planned that there will be 2 (two) Provinces, namely Bengkulu and Central Kalimantan, which will serve as piloting for the data collection and processing process to complete the content of the technical guide.

Erik Hutrindo, an expert in preparing the technical guide, explained that the initial input for this tool was based on the targets contained in the Regional Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMD). The preparation of the strategic plan is obtained from the existing conditions and the existing potential in the region. Based on this data, this tool is expected to be able to provide an offer or a list of program activities that can support the Regional Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMD) based on existing conditions and existing potential. The data entered will later produce output in the form of a Dashboard of Macro-Economic & Sectoral Indicators, a Strategic Plan in the Energy and Mineral Resource Sector.

“Here, we hope that when a region already has its RPJMD, it has entered the information into this tool before making the strategic plan. Thus, the output is in the form of a draft attachment to the initial strategic plan, most of which contain activities of a technical nature.” Eric explained.

Representatives from various relevant government agencies attended the technical meeting for this technical guide. Azhari Sauqi, the representative of the Secretariat General of the National Energy Council (DEN), appreciates this tool because it can calculate the target or strategic plan projection and other planning documents more realistically and comprehensively. He is also willing to provide data support, especially regarding the Local Government’s New Renewable Energy (EBT) target for tools development needs.
In addition, Juan Lubis, a representative from Bappenas, also appreciated the tools and diagrams. Juan also gave input so that in preparing the guidelines, the assumptions used must still pay attention to the assumptions used in the preparation of the RUED. In addition, he hopes that the targets in the RUED can also be accommodated in the regional government’s strategic plan. Regarding the ESDM sector, he also said that these tools should also pay attention to the targets that are in the Central Government, especially the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, so that this guide in its implementation can ensure the harmonization of existing programs and policy achievements at the central and regional levels.

Author: S. Al Ayubi
Reviewer: Meliana Lumbantoruan