ANALYSIS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE USING THE VALUE-FOR-MONEY APPROACH DURING AND AFTER THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN MUSI BANYUASIN REGENCY

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has posed a major challenge for Indonesia in terms of public budget management. The government must be able to allocate budgets in line with regional priorities. Therefore, performance measurement is crucial for assessing the performance of local governments in tackling the pandemic and driving economic recovery. This study aims to measure the performance of the local government during and after the pandemic using a value-for-money approach in Musi Banyuasin Regency. This study employs a quantitative descriptive method using secondary data in the form of Budget Implementation Reports. The results indicate that the financial performance of the Musi Banyuasin Regency Government during the pandemic met the criteria of ‘Highly economical’ with an average of 112.73%, ‘Inefficient’ with an average of 101.96%, and ‘Highly effective’ with an average of 107.65%. This indicates a positive response from the government in dealing with the pandemic, with optimal realisation of local revenue. Furthermore, during the post-pandemic period, the criteria were ‘economical’ with an average value of 97.45%, ‘less efficient’ with an average value of 99.30%, and ‘effective’ with an average value of 97.65%. This indicates that Musi Banyuasin Regency focused on economic recovery during the post-pandemic period. Overall, the financial performance of the Musi Banyuasin Regency Government is in the ‘stable’ category, although the Government still needs to improve its efficiency ratio to prevent economic disparities during the pandemic.