164 Families In Pagomogo Nagekeo Village, NTT Receive Village Funds, Totaling IDR 147.6 Million

Illustration of residents getting social assistance (bansos) BST taken from Bank DKI Jakarta. (Between)

NTT - A total of 164 families (KK) in Pagomogo Village, Nangaroro District, Nagekeo Regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) have received Village Fund Direct Cash Assistance (BLT) in the form of cash worth Rp.900 thousand.

"Each beneficiary family receives Rp900 thousand for the first phase of January-March. The second phase is next week," said Pagomogo Village Secretary Marsianus Sale when contacted from Labuan Bajo, quoted from Antara, Sunday, June 26.

The first phase of BLT in Pagomogo Village amounted to Rp. 147.6 million from the allocated village fund of Rp. 1.1 billion. This distribution exceeds the 40 percent ceiling set by the government due to the increasing number of beneficiary families.

Marsianus said the distribution of the first phase of BLT lasted for two days, namely Thursday and Friday. The distribution of BLT is more stringent in order to avoid mistakes that occur.

He said the beneficiary families had to bring a family card and identity card as a requirement for proof of recipients. For beneficiary families who cannot take the BLT, it is necessary to provide a power of attorney with a stamp if the collection is represented.

All BLT distribution activities are documented in the form of photos per each beneficiary family. This is important as evidence of accountability to the public regarding the use of village funds.

"Hopefully this assistance can be used to improve the family's economy," he said.

The Nagekeo Regency Government has indeed distributed phase one village funds of Rp. 18.5 billion and direct cash assistance (BLT) of Rp. 8.3 billion for 97 villages spread across the region.

Head of the Village Community Empowerment Service (PMD) of Nagekeo Regency Sales, Ujang Dekresano, who was contacted separately, said that the agency encourages people to use BLT for the benefit of work tools related to their respective professions.

For example, people who work as farmers on a daily basis can use BLT to buy machetes, crowbars, shovels, piquels, and other work tools to support their productivity.

The local government also encouraged the 97 villages to use village funds according to the plans in their respective APBDes.