There are some improvements that must be done in order to close gaps for misappropriation, including in the submission of area codes and distribution of village fund.
By
HARRY SUSILO/BENEDIKTUS KRISNA YOGATAMA/KELVIN HIANUSA/SAIFUL RIJAL YUNUS
·3 minutes read
KONAWE, KOMPAS – The Indonesian government’s village fund, which reached Rp 70 trillion (US$5.01 billion), should be able to boost people’s welfare in the more than 74,000 villages across the country. However, there are some improvements that must be done in order to close gaps for misappropriation, including in the submission of area codes and fund distribution.
In the case in Konawe regency, Southeast Sulawesi, the first gap for village fund misappropriation is in the lacking verification process at the provincial government and the Home Ministry as it relates to the regency administration’s submission of area codes. This has led to the emergence of bogus regional regulations on establishing new villages.
The Home Ministry’s provision of area codes to 56 villages in Konawe that led to the villages receiving village funds since 2017 began in the emergence of the bogus Konawe regency regulation No. 7/2011. It was found that the regulation was issued in 2015 and was unlisted at the Konawe Legal Agency as the official basis for village establishment.
How can the administration do something that is not within its authority?
Southeast Sulawesi administrative affairs bureau head Ali Akbar said that, back in 2015, the bureau did not verify the authenticity of the regional regulation submitted by the Konawe regency administration. “It is not the duty of the provincial administration [to verify]. How can the administration do something that is not within its authority?” Ali Akbar said in late November.
Home Ministry village administration and organization director Aferi Syamsidar said that the central government also did not verify the authenticity of Konawe regency regulation No. 7/2011. He said that the ministry was only required to administratively process all documents that the regency administration submitted to the province. “It is the job of the provincial administration to do factual verification,” Aferi said.
Another gap for misappropriation lies in the absence of factual verification on villages’ worthiness to obtain village funds, including whether or not the villages exist administratively. Regencies should not disburse village fund for problematic villages from its general treasury account (RKUD).
Still disbursed
In Konawe, three villages, namely Ulu Meraka, Uepai and Moorehe, are believed to have never obtained village fund from the RKUD since 2017, as there was never any village fund report from them. However, all three villages still obtained village funds from the state general treasury account (RKUN), managed by the central government. The village fund was transferred from the RKUN to Konawe regency’s RKUD.
Based on the Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration Ministry’s records, there were 103 villages with a zero absorption rate of village funds in 2017. In 2018, there were 66 villages. In 2019, there were 250.
The Finance Ministry’s financial balance director general, Astera Primanto, said that, in disbursing village funds from the RKUN to the RKUD, the ministry used village codes as references. The Home Ministry established these codes.
“[The Home Ministry] determines how many villages can receive a village fund in any given fiscal year. We calculate the budget based on that,” Astera said.
Regional Autonomy Watch (KPPOD) executive director Robert Endi Jaweng said that the lack of factual verification by the central and regional governments, including in issuing regulations to establish new villages and transferring and distributing village funds, was the root problem. The ensuing chaos provides loopholes for misappropriation.