Villages To Get Rp1 Bln Each In 2017: Minister

Manado, N Sulawesi (Antara Bali) - Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoaro said villages will each receive Rp1 billion in village funds in 2017, higher than this year which stood at Rp250 million.

"Village funds based on the law should account for 10 percent of the fiscal gap funds/balance funds  set in the state budget," the minister said when popularizing the village funds policy here on Sunday.

He said that the funds which amounted to Rp1 billion for each village was expected to accelerate the welfare improvement of villagers.

"This is a big money so that it is also expected to contribute greatly to the people's welfare," the minister stressed.

The Village funds which this year account for Rp20.7 trillion, according to the minister, is one of the money instruments transferred by the central government to districts/municipalities governments as set in the state budget.

He said that the government has disbursed in April 40 percent of the village funds valued at Rp8 trillion. "Up to now, the central government has transferred Rp7.9 trillion of the disbursed Rp8 trillion to villages across the country."

Minister Brodjonegoro said that the village funds allocated for 2015 amounting to Rp20.7 trillion can maximally be absorbed at the end of the year.

"In the first stage, the central government has transferred 90 percent of the funds to 90 percent of over 74 thousand villages in Indonesia," the finance minister said here on Sunday.

The minister said the problem is how to use the funds once they are already transferred to villages' accounts.

"Of course, we will understand if the absorption of the funds is slow because this policy is the first of its kind. This is the first experience for village heads, district chiefs and mayors," Brodjonegoro said.

The delay in the absorption of the funds can be caused by the fact that villages have to draft village budgets and projects that they will finance.

Therefore, the minister added, the Ministry of Home Affairs will organize technical training for village apparatuses in an effort to increase the capacity of village heads and financial managers.

He said the training would be conducted after the popularization of the village fund policy was conducted.

The technical training will focus on how to manage village funds well and to account for their usage in accordance with the law. (WDY)