Kemenkop Claims 80,000 Kopdes/Kel Merah Putih Become Unemployment Solutions In Villages

Deputy Minister of Cooperatives (Doc. Kemenkop)

The Ministry of Cooperatives (Kemenkop) ensures that 80,000 Village/Kelurahan Cooperatives (Kopdes/Kel) of Merah Putih can absorb labor in the village. The reason is, most of the young people in the village find it difficult to find jobs.

Deputy Minister of Cooperatives (Wamenkop) Ferry Juliantono said the formation of the Red and White Kopdes/Kel was a strategic step to strengthen economic independence and prosper the villagers, including in West Papua.

Ferry said that cooperatives were actually encouraged to become centers of people's economic services, managed professionally and become a space for community collaboration to build prosperity together.

"Kopdes/Kel Merah Putih is a manifestation of the welfare approach by the state and makes the Papuan people as subjects of the economy," Ferry said in a written statement, Saturday, June 28.

Moreover, he said, so far farmers, fishermen and other people's economic drivers have not received economic justice, including in West Papua. One of them is because of the benefits taken by the tengkulak or middleman.

However, Ferry believes that the existence of the Kopdes/Kel Merah Putih can break the distribution chain that is too long. Thus, the village community gets more affordable prices.

He also hopes that the Kopdes/Kel Merah Putih can also minimize village communities trapped in moneylenders, middlemen and online loans (pinjol).

"With the Kopdes/Kel Merah Putih, everything moneylenders, middlemen and online loans can be removed or minimized," he said.

In addition, continued Ferry, 80,000 Kopdes/Kel Merah Putih will later absorb workers in the village. Given, he said, most of the young people in the village have difficulty finding jobs and moving to cities.

"The existence of the Red and White Kopdes/Kel in villages will absorb a lot of workers, especially young people who are educated so they don't become urbanized anymore," said Ferry.

According to Ferry, for the next three months, namely July-October 2025, the stage that will be carried out is to prepare a business model, prepare training modules to prepare HR-HR, supervisors, administrators and managers of Kopdes/Kel Merah Putih.

"So, for the past three months we have entered the second stage, the actual stage also needs more cooperation, because this is also not an easy stage," he concluded.