Indonesia's leader swore in more than 900 local officials on Thursday, with their five-year term starting alongside sweeping budget cuts that analysts warned may hurt local development programs.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto led the mass swearing-in ceremony at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta.
The 961 governors, regents, and city mayors were elected in regional elections last November.
Prabowo called on the regional leaders to uphold the trust bestowed on them by the electorate.
"You are servants of the people. You must defend the interests of the people, fight for the interests of the people," Prabowo said in his speech.
He said it is important for the local officials to maintain unity and harmony amid diverse political affiliations, ethnicities, and religious beliefs among their constituents.
The local officials were inaugurated nearly a month after Prabowo issued an order directing his government to cut spending by 306.7 trillion rupiah ($18.75 billion) this year, stressing the need for efficient spending under his administration.
A significant portion of the savings will be used to finance free meals for over 82 million children and pregnant women — Prabowo's flagship program and one of his key campaign promises.
News of the budget cuts sparked concerns, and Prabowo did not mention the cuts during his speech at the inauguration.
Ija Suntana, a constitutional law professor at Sunan Gunung Jati University in West Java, said the central government's fiscal austerity measures might hinder local officials from fulfilling their campaign promises.
He said some of these local officials contested elections and won because they had promised to build infrastructure for the agricultural and fishery sectors and provide basic services.
However, these projects, especially those situated in less developed provinces, rely on allocations from the central government.
Efatha Filomeno Borromeu Duarte, a political science lecturer at Udayana University in Bali, said the central government should ensure that budget cuts will not affect infrastructure development in remote regions.
He mentioned the poor conditions in the provinces of Papua and East Nusa Tenggara, where more than 70 percent of the roads are dirt roads, which often require repair.
"With the budget cuts, infrastructure projects in such areas will stop, distribution of goods will be halted, and logistics costs will increase drastically," Duarte told China Daily.
Nomura analysts said the budget cuts are "ill-timed" as they are being implemented when domestic demand is faltering.
Contact the writers at prime@chinadailyapac.com.
