InfoMatoa, Keerom | Keerom Regent Piter Gusbager, S.Hut, MUP, has fulfilled his commitment to improving community welfare by distributing cash incentives to hundreds of traditional and religious leaders. The handover ceremony took place at the Pramuka Building in Arso Swakarsa on Saturday (20/12/2025).
The program marks a historic milestone for Keerom Regency, as it is the first time the local government has provided direct, formally recorded incentives to these informal community leaders.
A total budget of approximately Rp 3 billion, sourced from Papua’s Special Autonomy (Otsus) Fund for Fiscal Year 2025, was allocated to two key groups within Keerom’s social structure:
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Traditional Leaders (270 recipients): Including tribal chiefs, Ondoafi, and Keret heads. Each received an incentive of Rp 8.4 million.
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Religious Leaders (80 recipients): Each received an incentive of Rp 9 million.
Regent Piter Gusbager emphasized that the initiative is intended to ensure that the benefits of the Special Autonomy Fund are felt directly by the community, delivered in a targeted, transparent, and accountable manner.
“The provision of these incentives is part of the vision, mission, and promises we made during the last regional election, which we have now realized at the end of this year,” Piter Gusbager said.
In his address, the Regent assured that the program is not a one-off initiative but will become a sustained priority program.
“Next year, the incentives will be distributed quarterly (every three months). This program will continue, and both the number of beneficiaries and the budget allocation will be increased. For those who have not yet received it, please be patient—next year it will be disbursed,” he pledged.
To support the smooth implementation of the program going forward, the Regent has instructed relevant government agencies to develop a digital data system. The initiative aims to ensure that all traditional and religious leaders in Keerom Regency are accurately and systematically recorded.
Concluding his remarks, Regent Piter Gusbager underscored the vital role of traditional and religious leaders as strategic partners of the local government. According to him, development in Papua—particularly in Keerom—cannot progress optimally without the involvement of these two key elements.
“I hope traditional and religious leaders will continue to stand together and work in synergy as important partners of the government. Without adat and religion, the government cannot address and resolve the many challenges we face on its own,” he concluded.
