Yogyakarta City, December 10, 2024 — The Association of Indonesian Municipalities (APEKSI), in collaboration with the Yogyakarta City Government, PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur Persero (PT SMI), and the Regional Public Company (Perumda) Tirta Musi, held a Knowledge Management Forum on December 10-11, 2024 at the Harper Malioboro Hotel. In this event, APEKSI also launched a Best Practice Book that describes the experiences of seven cities that have implemented alternative financing for sustainable development.
The Chairman of the APEKSI Board of Directors and Mayor of Surabaya, Eri Cahyadi, in his remarks in this Best Practice Book said: “There are big cities with adequate budgets and resources to meet the infrastructure and basic service needs of their citizens. However, there are also cities with limited budgets, while population growth and urbanization are growing rapidly. In this condition, city governments must be creative in finding solutions and breakthroughs to accelerate development. This APEKSI Good Practice Book is a means to strengthen inter-city learning so that knowledge and experience from various development sectors can be utilized together for our progress.”
Alternative Financing Innovation
Alternative Financing Innovation by Local Governments is not only about public financial management, but also opens up opportunities for reform in government services, taxes and levies, and alternative financing policies. Alternative financing innovation is interpreted as an effort to close the budget gap while encouraging transparency and professionalism, in order to support sustainable development at the local level.
Like a running race, the effort to obtain innovative financing is not a “sprint”, but rather a long process involving stages that must be undertaken, beyond the annual fiscal calendar and not limited to the term of the regional head’s leadership.
In this context, the Association of Indonesian City Governments (APEKSI) continues to advocate policies, strengthen capacity, and accommodate aspirations from 98 APEKSI member cities throughout Indonesia. One of them by documenting the experiences of seven cities in accessing alternative financing and sharing them in the Knowledge Management Forum (KMF).
APEKSI Encourages SMI to Lower Loan Interest
Still in his speech, Eri Cahyadi said that in building a city, acceleration is needed. This acceleration cannot only rely on the APBD. The City Government needs to dare to manage fiscal, including by making loans so that fiscal strength can be utilized for development and overcoming urban problems such as poverty.
“Regions must mobilize their fiscal. For that, SMI support is needed so as not to give high interest,” he said in front of all participants. Eri Cahyadi assured that in this way, cities can build their fiscal independence with the power of togetherness.
The hope of the Chairman of the APEKSI Board of Directors and the Mayor of Surabaya received a good response from SMI. Furthermore, he asked for a special forum to be prepared for the APEKSI Board of Directors to meet with the Minister of Finance to share the good experiences of cities in Indonesia in pursuing fiscal independence and the form of support that can be provided by the Government.
Book Launch Event and Knowledge Forum
From July to November 2024, APEKSI has documented alternative financing practices in seven cities, namely Blitar, Dumai, Jambi, Makassar, Palembang, Semarang, and Yogyakarta. The results of the documentation were launched in the Good Practices Book: Innovation in Alternative Financing for Regional Development.
The Good Practice Book Launching Event and KMF were attended by 3 Mayors, 6 Acting Mayors, 1 Deputy Mayor, a number of Regional Secretaries and Heads of Bappeda, and a number of City Government officials. The number of participants was 306 people from 45 cities in Indonesia, including representatives from PT SMI, City Governments, and Perumda. This forum was designed in a relaxed manner so that ‘horizontal learning’ could occur and encourage collaboration in finding alternative financing solutions that could be applied in other cities in Indonesia.
Learning Visits and Local Potential
For APEKSI, the learning process can occur in official forums or informal interactions during a series of activities. In a series of events, participants also made a learning visit to Giwangan Village, Umbulharjo District on November 10, 2024. There they saw firsthand the innovation of the Gandeng Gendong program which is a form of 5K cooperation, namely villages, communities, campuses, corporations, and city governments. Among them are the transformation of slum areas into Bendhung Lepen and Kampung Kelengkeng educational tourism areas, a Circular Economy that combines concern for the environment, organic waste management, and economic strengthening.
Meanwhile, on November 11, 2024, the ‘Local Pride Yogyakarta’ activity was held: highlighting the creative potential of Batik and MSMEs in the City of Yogyakarta, as an example of sustainable local economic utilization.
Quote
- Yogyakarta City innovates in every development concept, namely by raising local wisdom. This is a differentiator and uniqueness that brings out the city’s dignity. APEKSI member cities need to bring out their own uniqueness to raise the dignity of their city. (Sugeng Purwanto, Acting Mayor of Yogyakarta)
- The challenges faced by cities are multidimensional and complex, requiring coordination and collaboration. See what we are doing at Bendhung Lepen. Lepen Bendhung is small, but for us it is extraordinary. When the perspective of society changes, the economy rolls, and can raise the standard of living of society. (Sugeng Purwanto, Acting Mayor of Yogyakarta)
- There are two challenges currently faced by the City Government, namely policy integration and how fiscal economics can be implemented in the future, both funding and financing. (Alwis Rustam, Executive Director/Secretary of the APEKSI Board of Directors)
- The knowledge products in this event, especially the posters of good practices of the seven cities were worked on byinterns in the APEKSI Directorate. The presence of internshipAPEKSI participants is an effort to bring young people closer to urban issues. (Alwis Rustam, Executive Director/Secretary of the APEKSI Board of Directors)
- Infrastructure cannot be built in five years. I learned from Bandar Lampung City, Solok City, Trenggalek Regency to get out of the comfort zone. Breakthroughs are made by thinking and calculating the interests of our city. Not for popularity, but a big impact on society. (Eri Cahyadi, Chairman of the APEKSI Board of Directors/Mayor of Surabaya)
- Civil Servants in the Comfort Zone, the City Cannot Prosper. (Eri Cahyadi, Chairman of the APEKSI Board of Directors/Mayor of Surabaya)