Already Called A Number Of People, The West Papua Prosecutor's Office Stops Investigations Allegations Of Abuse Of XX PON Grants

The West Papua High Prosecutor's Office on Jalan Pahlawan Sanggeng Manokwari Barat, Manokwari Regency, West Papua. (ANTARA)

WEST PAPUA - The West Papua High Prosecutor's Office has stopped investigating the alleged misuse of the XX PON grant from the local provincial government to KONI because there was not enough evidence. "After a clarification call from a number of people for the collection of materials and information, the prosecutor's team found no indication of budget abuse that led to a criminal offense, so the investigation was stopped," said West Papua Prosecutor's Office Head Juniman Hutagaol at a press conference in Manokwari, Antara, Thursday, September 22. The termination of the investigation into the alleged misuse of the XX National Sports Week (PON) grant was not the end of an law enforcement effort. This is because the West Papua Prosecutor's Office provides space for the public and anti-corruption institutions to report if they get or have evidence regarding the misuse of the XX PON grant budget. "If there is a new report accompanied by strong evidence related to the XX PON grant in the West Papua KONI organization, this case will be re-disclosed whenever it is," he said. In participating in PON XX 2021 in Papua, the West Papua Provincial Government allocated a grant of around Rp. 67.5 billion, which was sourced from the 2021 APBD to the local KONI. "The results of the examination revealed that the Rp67.5 billion budget had been distributed by the West Papua KONI as submitted, namely to finance 29 sports out of a total of 34 sports at the XX PON event," said Juniman. However, said Juniman, the Rp67.5 billion grant does not include bonuses for West Papuan athletes who won the XX PON medal. Therefore, the provincial government still has an obligation to give bonuses to medal-winning athletes. "From the results of the examination, the bonuses for medal-winning athletes are outside of the XX PON grant budget managed by West Papua KONI and local governments are required to make payments," said Kajati. West Papua Province Regional Secretary Nataniel D. Mandacan on the previous occasion said that bonuses for XX PON medal-winning athletes were the concern of the local government to be paid in stages that were adjusted to regional financial conditions. "Bonus atlet merupakan janji pemerintah karena telah membawa nama baik Papua Barat, tapi untuk pembayaran dilakukan secara bertahap. Saat ini sedang didorkan untuk diburan pada APBD Perubahan 2022," kata Nataniel.