KPK Warns East Java Provincial Government to Prioritize Transparency and Supervision in Managing Rp 6.68 Trillion Grant Funds

The Shiro Copr - The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) reminded the East Java Provincial Government (Pemprov Jatim) to prioritize transparency and supervision in managing grant funds. This was conveyed by the KPK through its Coordination and Supervision duties, which revealed potential violations and provided several recommendations for improving the governance of grants within Pemprov Jatim.

This warning arises alongside the process of handling the alleged criminal act of corruption related to the distribution of grants to community groups (pokmas) from the East Java Provincial Budget, which is currently ongoing.

"East Java is one of the provinces with the largest grant allocation. Between 2023 and 2025, the total grant budget reached Rp 6.68 trillion with more than 20,000 recipients," said KPK spokesperson Budi Prasetyo to journalists on Monday (7/21).

According to him, the size of the budget must be accompanied by strict and accountable governance, as it concerns strategic sectors such as education, health, infrastructure, and community empowerment.

The distribution of grants in East Java, according to Budi, is regulated by several regulations, such as Government Regulation No. 12 of 2019 and the Ministerial Regulation of the Interior No. 77 of 2020, as well as two latest East Java Provincial Regulations, No. 44 of 2021 and No. 7 of 2024.

"However, existing regulations still leave loopholes. For example, there are no strict sanctions for fake grant recipients, and there is no clear definition regarding incidental community groups," he explained.

The KPK's evaluation results show various serious challenges in managing grants in East Java. Budi mentioned several vulnerable points that the KPK is concerned about, such as unprofessional practices in verifying recipients, fictitious community groups, and even duplicate accounts with the same identity, reaching 757 accounts.

"This indicates a weak verification system that can be exploited for misconduct," said Budi.

In addition, the KPK also highlighted the alleged manipulation of grant allocations by some DPRD officials, the cutting of funds by field coordinators up to 30 percent, and the influence over project activities by external parties.

"There are also 133 institutions that have committed violations with losses of approximately Rp 2.9 billion, and Rp 1.3 billion of which has not yet been returned," he said.

Indeed, Bank Jatim as the manager of RKUD is said to still not have sufficient procedures for disbursing grants. Therefore, KPK has provided several recommendations for improvement.

"we encourage the refinement of grant objectives to align with regional priorities, selection of recipients based on measurable indicators, development of an integrated cross-regional database, and digitization of a public-accessible grant system in real-time," explained Budi.

They added, the involvement of the community in supervision and close collaboration with Bank Jatim are also very important in creating an accountable disbursement mechanism. Not only focusing on the East Java region, KPK also plans to formulate national policies related to grants.

“Kami akan menggandeng lembaga pusat untuk menyusun regulasi nasional tentang porsi hibah dalam APBD, membangun data tunggal berbasis NIK, serta menciptakan platform digital hibah terintegrasi,” urai Budi.

This is intended to prevent manipulation of recipients and strengthen transparency in budgeting. After all, regional grants should be a clean instrument for development with real impact on the community.

"Reforming the grant management in East Java can serve as an example for other regions. This is not just about money, but about public trust," he concluded.