Director General of Village Development and Empowerment Ministry of Home Affairs Nilai Jaga Desa Awards Strengthening Village Governance with Integrity

JAKARTA - The Jaga Desa Awards are a real encouragement for villages to strengthen transparency, accountability and integrity, considering that villages are the foundation and spearhead of national development.

This was said by the Director General of Village Government Development (Pemdes) of the Ministry of Home Affairs, La Ode Ahmad P. Bolombo, regarding the "ABPEDNAS Jaga Desa Awards 2026".

According to him, the activities held at the Grand Ballroom of Fairmont Jakarta on Sunday (19/4) are a strategic momentum in strengthening transparent, accountable, and integrated village government governance.

La Ode assessed that the award was not just a ceremony, but a part of concrete efforts to encourage villages in Indonesia to continue to improve the quality of governance.

"The ABPEDNAS Village Watch Awards 2026 is a real encouragement for villages to strengthen transparency, accountability, and integrity. This is important because the village is the foundation of national development," said La Ode in a written statement as quoted by Thursday (23/4).

Furthermore, the Director General of Village Development explained that villages as the spearhead of development require capacity building for the apparatus, especially in financial and administrative management, so as to avoid legal problems that often arise due to administrative errors.

He also emphasized the importance of synergy between the central government, local governments, and law enforcement officials in providing guidance and assistance to village governments.

"Assistance must continue to be carried out on an ongoing basis. With good governance, villages are not only strong administratively, but also able to promote community welfare," he said.

The ABPEDNAS Jaga Desa Awards 2026 event was attended by a number of related officials and ministers, including the Special Envoy of the President of the Republic of Indonesia for Energy and Climate Hashim Djojohadikusumo, Attorney General ST Burhanuddin, Chairman of the DPD RI Sultan Bachtiar Najamudin, as well as a number of related ministers.

President's Special Envoy Hashim Djojohadikusumo appreciated the implementation of this activity as a form of concern for the progress of villages. He emphasized the importance of supervision in the management of village funds so as not to cause legal problems.

Meanwhile, ST Burhanuddin hopes that the Jaga Desa program can be a means of training for village officials, so that there is no criminalization of administrative errors that do not harm the state.

At this event, awards were given in three main categories, namely the Order of Village Financial Management, Compliance with the Entry of Data for the Jaga Desa Application, and the ABPEDNAS Short Film Competition for Jaga Desa 2026.

For the village finance management category, Banyubiru Village, Semarang Regency, Central Java, won first place, followed by Kutuh Village, Badung Regency, Bali, and Tanjungsari Village, Sumedang Regency, West Java.

Meanwhile, in the data entry compliance category, Japanpakis Village, Kudus Regency, Central Java, came out as the first place winner, followed by Karangkamiri Village, Pangandaran Regency, West Java, and Aik Rayak Village, Belitung Regency, Bangka Belitung Islands.

Meanwhile, in the short film competition, the work "Jaga Cowong" from Karangmangu Village, Cilacap Regency, Central Java, won the Best Film and the General Champion.

La Ode hopes that through this event, villages throughout Indonesia will be more motivated to build clean, professional, and sustainable governance.

"If village governance is strong, then national development will have a solid foundation," he concluded.