Dedi Mulyadi Takes Over Authority To Repair Damaged Village Roads

BANDUNG - The West Java Provincial Government has decided to take over the authority of village roads in terms of improvement, while village funds are diverted for human resource development, such as stunting handling.

West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi said the withdrawal of authority to this province was to stop the cycle, which according to him was a waste of the budget due to habits in villages, often carried out manually until the quality was low and quickly damaged.

"This year it was built, next year it will be damaged again, I don't want it to be like that. Later everything will be built by the province so that the quality is good, concrete, the concrete is a manufacturer. The village funds are for stunting," said Dedi in Bandung, Wednesday, November 19.

In addition, Dedi also highlighted the phenomenon of inefficiency that has been happening at the village level, where Village Funds are often divided evenly to the neighborhood level (RT) for the sake of equal distribution, then funds for the road are executed with manual construction standards.

The manual method, according to Dedi, has no resistance to high rainfall or large vehicle loads that pass, so that the environmental road, or small alley, will be destroyed again in a short time.

"I live in the village so I know the problem, so it has been decided, later the province will build concrete roads with the quality of the manufacturer," he said.

The policy of taking over physical infrastructure authority by this province has a systemic impact on village financial management.

Dedi explained, with the infrastructure burden being withdrawn to the province, the village government is now required to focus its budget on the health sector.

He emphasized that village funds will no longer be burdened with cement and asphalt matters, but will be fully focused on solving stunting problems, residents' health, and handling community diseases.

"We will immediately finance it (the infrastructure) until it is finished. Later the PKK cadres will guide it, the village funds can be intended directly for others," he said.

In addition to intervention at the village level, Dedi also tightened the obligations of the second level local government. He asked district/city governments in West Java to allocate a minimum of 7.5 percent of the total Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBD) specifically for road repairs.

This policy is planned to be strengthened through the issuance of a Governor's Decree (Kepgub) as a binding legal umbrella.

"Because if not 7.5 percent, the road in West Java will still be damaged," he said.

This aggressive step, he considered, was urgent because the general public did not see the status of the road authority, be it a village, district, or provincial road as an excuse to justify the poor infrastructure.

"The public will not differentiate between authority. Every road is damaged, the complaints must be 'Pak Dedi, the road is fried (ugly)'," said Dedi.