A decade of Village Funds, has it improved the welfare of village communities?

On Tuesday, September 10, 2024, Article 33 Indonesia held the first Development Study Forum in a series of discussions themed "A Decade of Village Funds, Has It Improved the Welfare of Village Communities?". The event took place from 16.00 to 18.30 WIB via the Zoom webinar platform and was attended by almost 100 participants.

The forum features three keynote speakers:

1. Teguh Hadi Sulistiono, S.IP, M.Si, Director of Village Fund Utilization Facilitation, Ministry of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration (Kemendes PDTT).
2. Arman Suparman, S.Fil, M.Si, Executive Director of the Regional Autonomy Implementation Monitoring Committee (KPPOD).
3. Yusuf Faisal M, Coordinator of Education and Regional Development Division, Article 33 Indonesia.

The discussion was opened with remarks from Santoso as Executive Director of Article 33 Indonesia, and Lydia Napitupulu as Secretary of the Development Study Forum. Next, keynote speech given by Monalisa Rumayar, S.Pt, M.Si, Assistant Deputy for Regional Empowerment and Spatial Mobility, Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture (Kemenko PMK), who emphasized the importance of synergy between institutions in maximizing the benefits of Village Funds.

The first session was opened by Yusuf Faisal M who discussed the research conducted by Article 33 Indonesia entitled "Village Funds and Their Impact in Indonesia". The evaluation of the Village Fund Program at the end of President Joko Widodo's term discussed the analysis of the development of regulations since they were first implemented and their impact on improving the welfare of village communities. This study also highlighted important points to strengthen the implementation of Village Funds in the next government.

Then, Teguh Hadi Sulistiono from Kemendes PDTT gave a presentation related to "Priority Policy for Utilization of Village Funds". It includes an explanation of the Village Fund policy, one of which is under the auspices of the Ministry of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration (Kemendes PDTT) such as Permendesa PDTT No. 13 of 2023, which regulates operational instructions related to the focus of the use of Village Funds in 2024. In addition, it also includes a discussion of the allocation of village funds from year to year, the formulation of village fund distribution, priorities in its use, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, to the problem of misuse of village funds that have occurred in the last three years.

The third session was filled by Arman Suparman from KPPOD who discussed "Village Fund Management: Overview of Problems and Recommendations". Here is an overview of the problems in village development (in social, economic, environmental, and governance aspects), the process of good governance, achievements of the village development index, achievements in the poverty level of the village population, several problems that are still faced such as village government accountability where data shows that village government corruption tends to increase, namely 22 cases (2016) to 187 cases (2023). This is supported by limited human resources and also highlights structural problems such as policies that still place villages as objects so that they can hinder the implementation of village autonomy.

The discussion in this forum was interactive, with various questions from participants. One interesting topic was related to the politicization of Village Funds. Arman Suparman emphasized that the politicization of village policies is indeed difficult to avoid given the complexity of political interests in Indonesia. However, collaboration between civil society and academics is needed to minimize its negative impacts.

Another question raised was about the effectiveness of Village Funds in reducing poverty, given the difference between nominal growth of Village Funds and inflation. Yusuf Faisal M responded that despite the decrease in real Village Fund allocations, flexibility in the use of funds is key to ensuring that villages can use them effectively in local development.

Teguh Hadi Sulistiono also emphasized the mechanism for distributing Village Funds, which is carried out directly from the Ministry of Finance to village accounts, without intermediaries. Villages have autonomy in planning and managing Village Funds, but there must still be clear accountability because these funds come from the APBN.

This discussion concludes that during a decade of Village Fund implementation, there have been many achievements, but challenges remain, especially related to governance, politicization, and effectiveness in improving the welfare of village communities. Regulatory flexibility and improving governance and capacity of village heads are considered the main keys in optimizing the use of Village Funds. In addition, collaborative supervision involving civil society, academics, and non-government actors is needed to minimize misuse and ensure that Village Funds truly have a positive impact on the welfare of village communities.

The most important thing is how we need to change the paradigm of village development from previously placing villages as the outskirts to the center of development. As the saying goes:

"Developing Indonesia not only from the center, but also from villages throughout the archipelago."