Ombudsman urges stronger regional disaster agencies, coordination

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Ombudsman (Ombudsman RI) has urged local governments to strengthen the institutional capacity of Regional Disaster Mitigation Agencies (BPBDs) and step up coordination with the central government to speed up disaster response.

"On-the-ground coordination remains challenging because multiple stakeholders are involved, but they do not necessarily collaborate effectively," Ombudsman RI member Robert Na Endi Jaweng said during a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Robert stated that monitoring across nine provinces showed that some local governments still have limited disaster response capacity and tend to rely entirely on national-level agencies such as the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).

This condition risks slowing down regional disaster response, as inter-agency coordination is not yet running effectively.

To address the issue, Ombudsman RI recommended three strategic steps to improve disaster management governance.

First, local governments need to strengthen the institutional framework of BPBDs and ensure they are led by permanent officials who do not hold concurrent posts in other agencies.

Second, local governments must allocate an adequate dedicated budget for disaster response and BPBD operations.

Third, Ombudsman RI called for closer integration between BNPB and BPBDs.

Robert noted that the absence of vertical BNPB offices in the regions requires a more integrated cooperative framework between the two bodies.

He emphasized that seamless coordination is vital to enable the BNPB and BPBDs to deliver public services and community protection effectively.

This, he added, is expected to strengthen emergency response preparedness and protection for the public.

At Wednesday's press conference, Ombudsman RI outlined the results of monitoring the impact of forest and land fires on public services in nine provinces: Jambi, Bangka Belitung Islands, West Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, Southeast Sulawesi, Gorontalo, West Sulawesi, Maluku, and North Maluku.

Six key areas were evaluated during the monitoring: public health protection, emergency safety and preparedness, access to clean water and basic needs, continuity of public information, complaint channels, resource coordination, and response accountability.

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Translator: Laily Rahmawaty, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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