Building a Sovereign Village

KOMPAS/DAHLIA IRAWATI

Wahyudi Anggoro Hadi

... slow is the journey, because the steps are steps of change. And the changes that are real change, always take a very long time. (Paulo Coelho)

Gradual change has taken place in Panggungharjo village. From being just an ordinary village, the village of 28,000 people has become one of the best villages in the country and a model for 74,000 other villages.

Panggungharjo village in Bantul regency, Yogyakarta, has been successful in building a village development governance system and community empowerment. The village income (PADes) of Panggungharjo is above Rp 1 billion. The village in southern Yogyakarta has become one of 157 unicorn villages in Indonesia. A unicorn village is a village with a PADes of above Rp 1 billion. In 2012, the PADes of Pangungungjo village was only Rp 300 million.

The transformation of Panggungharjo village started in 2012, when Wahyudi Anggoro Hadi, 40, was elected the new village head. Wahyudi was inaugurated in September 2012 and was therefore not involved in the village\'s development plan for 2013. Finally, what the former pharmacist could do was negotiate with the third party that manages the village’s assets.

"I negotiated with the third party that manages the village’s land assets, which had not complied with the rules. The result has been quite good," Wahyudi said in Bantul on Sunday (8/9/2019).

KOMPAS/NINO CITRA ANUGRAHANTO

Wahyudi Anggoro Hadi

Giving an example, he said that in 2012 a plot of land belonging to the village was rented out for only Rp 27 million a year. After negotiations, the amount was increased to Rp 180 million a year. This happened in several places. As a result of the negotiations, Panggungharjo’s income more than doubled.

Another step taken by Wahyudi was to reform the village bureaucracy, such as by forming 11 structural units. The units become an extension of the government in serving the community. The first village structural unit, created in 2013, was the community waste management unit. The unit became a forerunner of village-owned enterprise BUMDes Panggung Lestari, which has since developed into one of the contributors to the PADes with a value of Rp 200 million a month. The current APBDes of Panggungharjo is Rp 4.9 billion.

New culture

After the institutional reorganization, Wahyudi developed a new organizational culture. The bureaucracy of the village administration is considered to be undeveloped because the village officials are not motivated in their work. Understandably, they are not corporate employees who have career paths. They get the same treatment regardless of performance.

KOMPAS/DAHLIA IRAWATI

Wahyudi Anggoro Hadi

"In 2016, we established a performance-based payroll system based on workload. There is a target of meeting work-hour requirements for staff members, which is 140 hours per month," he said.

At the end of each month their performance is evaluated. If they work less than 140 hours, the performance allowance for village officials is cut. This rule is stipulated in village regulations.

In order for village officials to meet minimum qualification requirements for their positions, the village administration sends them to school. A unit head, for example, must have a diploma. Wahyudi did not just make rules, but also found a way to make sure they are upheld.

Wahyudi started the bureaucratic restructuring when he was the head of the village office in 2012. Changes were only seen in 2016. This arrangement not only affected the performance of village officials but also improved community services.

Panggungharjo village employs nurses in charge of caring for the elderly. They make sure the elderly have decent housing, adequate nutrition health checks.

In the field of education, Panggungharjo village implements a one-house-one-graduate policy. This is done by providing education insurance, education scholarships, education cash assistance and collaborating with several universities to ensure free education up until graduation.

The village also provides maternal and child health protection. A pregnant woman in Panggungharjo has the right to complete health services, seven health checks and one normal delivery service, two postpartum checkups and five immunizations for babies free of charge.

With all these achievements, Wahyudi did not find it difficult to get reelected in 2018. Nearly 90 percent of the people reelect Wahyudi as their leader.

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Wahyudi Anggoro Hadi

"For me, managing a village is not much different from prescribing medicine. If the measurements are correct the results will be good," said the graduate of pharmacy from UGM.

In the future, Wahyudi hopes that he can slowly develop the village into a prosperous, independent and sovereign community. That is why he wants the village management system he has built to be sustainable, continued and improved.

"However, no matter how good a leader is, he or she will still fail if they cannot maintain the system and have a successor. I hope the system that I have built can be continued and improved  by the next generation," Wahyudi said.

KOMPAS/DAHLIA IRAWATI

Wahyudi Anggoro Hadi

Wahyudi Anggoro Hadi

Born: Bantul, July 24, 1979

Wife: Umi Haniah

Children: Nilna Atumi Lu’lu’I El Nida; Nala Ulupi Fathiya El Rahma; Naili Nafisah El Muna

Education: Pharmacy graduate from Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Yogyakarta (2007); Pharmacist profession program at UGM (2008) – Governance postgraduate program at STPMD APMD Yogyakarta (current)

Postition: Head of Panggungharjo village

Achievement:

Award recipient for village with outstanding education from the Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration Ministry (2016); Award from the Association of National Village Deliberation Board (2017)

; Best National Administrator for UP2K PKK (2017)

; Award for Inspiring Village from the PDTT Ministry (2018)

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