Mendes PDTT Wants Social Assistance To Join One Package With Village Funds

Mendes PDTT Abdul Halim Iskandar (left) during his visit to Pemuteran Village, Gerokgak District, Buleleng Regency, Bali, Friday (26/1/2023). (ANTARA/HO-Kemendes PDTT)

JAKARTA - Minister of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration (Mendes PDTT), Abdul Halim Iskandar is optimistic that villages with independent status can manage and distribute social assistance programs (bansos).

"Villages with independent status have competence and have quality human resources (HR) in determining prospective recipients of assistance. Therefore, the management of government assistance programs should be left to the village," he said as quoted by ANTARA from a written statement, Saturday, January 27.

According to him, if the village is established, in a developed and independent sense, accountability is good, then community participation in the village is conducive.

Abdul Halim also hopes that the social assistance funds for stunting and poverty will become a complete package that is handed over to the village.

Because in practice, he said, villages must be able to manage together so that the ideals for zero stunting and free from extreme poverty can be achieved properly and effectively.

"So that social assistance is immediately put into the village fund into one package, it is also able to overcome problems related to stunting," he said.

Therefore, synergy is needed between the government, the private sector, and the community as a social responsibility to overcome the social problems being faced.

Since being distributed in 2015, village funds sourced from the state budget (APBN) have tripled in 2023.

In the first year mandated by Law Number 6 of 2014 concerning Villages, the allocation of village funds reached IDR 20.8 trillion. Furthermore, in 2023, the figure rose to reach IDR 70 trillion.

Thus, the total average increase in village funds is 21.3 percent per year.