Between Corruption and Village Development

HERYUNANTO

Illustration

As soon as the horizon of 2024 rises, the battered village is hit by a grand narrative of corruption. The issue of the Dirty Vote video as well as mass and social media opinions about village corruption which is linked to the village head's political choice, is not wrong.

However, in reality village corruption is not that massive in reality, seen from the proportion of cases and their value to the total number of cases and the value of state money that is corrupted nationally. The narrative of village corruption that is too heavy has undermined trust in the village. This is detrimental to all citizens.

Proportion of corruption

Although village corruption data is available at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), the narrative that flows to the public is mostly constructed from information provided by the ICW.

Every year, ICW reports on the trends of prosecution and sentences in corruption cases. Village corruption is being scrutinized because it has the highest number of corruptors, even though the record for the highest amount of corruption value comes from local governments, private sectors, and in some cases, from central authorities.

In 2022, village corruption reached Rp 381 billion, equivalent to 0.89 percent of the overall corruption value in Indonesia, which amounted to Rp 42,747 trillion.

Every policy must be based on data, analysis and recommendations for activities, which can be accessed by the public.

However, the number of corrupt individuals and the value of village corruption are not exactly the same when compared across annual reports. At times, the category of village heads is separate and has been combined with their staff, also at times grouped together with district heads. The cumulative consequences of the differences are not too significant and can be overlooked.

The number of village heads accused of corruption has increased from 22 people in 2016 to 374 people in 2022. Compared to the number of villages, which were 74,754 in 2016, this figure represents 0.03 percent of the total number of village heads. And for 2022, it represents 0.05 percent of the total of 74,961 village heads.

The proportion of village corruption values ​​is also small. In 2016, the value of corruption was Rp 22 billion or 0.09 percent of the village fund of Rp 46.9 trillion. In 2022, the value of village corruption is Rp 68 billion or 0.56 percent of the village fund.

Therefore, if there is any indication of political mobilization of village heads due to being hostages of corruption cases, even if it is true, it gives an impression of being exaggerated considering its disproportionately small proportion.

It is important to scrutinize the average corruption figures of each corrupt village head. In 2016, corrupt officials caused an average loss of Rp 1.8 billion to each village. This is a figure that is too high for a year's worth of corruption, except for remote villages.

Until 2022, corrupt officials on average cause a loss of Rp 1 billion to villages. By comparing the average disbursement of village funds of Rp 930 million per village and the average value of the Village Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBDes) of Rp 1.6 billion per village, the corruption value is too big to be hidden in villages. Such corruption should be easily detected by residents.

In 2022, when 0.5 percent or 374 village heads embezzle village fund allocations (APBDes), 35 percent or 26,487 villages actually achieve the status of being advanced and independent villages. This means that there are far more village heads building their villages and empowering their residents than there are those corruptly misusing village funds.

Compared to the previous year, the number of corrupt village heads did increase by 129 people or 0.17 percent. However, many more have succeeded in elevating their village status to be developed and independent. That is 11 percent or 7,897 village heads. This means that the increase of active village heads in building multiplies tenfold, more than ten times those who embezzle their own village funds. This should be enough to maintain trust in the villages.

Also read: Village Funds Increase, Increasingly Prone to Corruption

Zero corruption

This article is not intended as an apology for corruption. The proportion of village corruption is very small, not proportionate to its discourse. Moreover, village heads who prosper their citizens are far more numerous.

Corruption must be eradicated to the fullest extent. Residents must report village corruption directly through the Sipemandu service of the Ministry of Village PDTT (https://sipemandu.kemendesa.go.id) which is connected to Jaga Desa KPK (https://jaga.id). Or to Lapor! to the President (https://www.lapor.go.id). Reports of village corruption are commonly taken seriously.

Concerns about the impunity of village heads in the draft revision of the Village Law Article 26 need to be addressed with the guarantee of legal assistance acquisition.

Every policy must be based on data, analysis, and recommendations for activities that can be accessed by the public. Next, decisions are taken together through village meetings. The Minister of Home Affairs also needs to have the authority to remove the position of village head once the corruption verdict is inkracht.

Ivanovich Agusta, Rural Sociologist of the Ministry of Villages, PDT and Transmigration