A billboard provides details on the planned allocation of village funds by the administration of Wakal village, Leihitu district, Central Maluku regency, Maluku, on Saturday (5/8). The billboard aims to encourage citizens to monitor the appropriate use of village funds.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — A number of malfeasances in connection with the disbursement of village funds since 2015 have taken place because the design of village funds programs are not clear. So far, there has been no clarity on who is responsible for the programs, from planning and implementation and up to supervision in the field.
In regard to this, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) proposed the establishment of a special task force across ministries and government institutions that would be fully responsible for the village funds. With the establishment of the task force, the village funds, which this year reached Rp 60 trillion and next year is estimated to increase to Rp 80 trillion, can be utilized optimally.
KPK deputy on prevention Pahala Nainggolan said that the money from the village funds programs came from the Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration Ministry. However, its management in the field are regional apparatuses under the Home Affairs Ministry.
"Then the question is, who is responsible for the spending of the village funds? The management of money and humans should not be separated," said Pahala at the Kompas editorial office, Jakarta, Tuesday (8/8).
So far, Pahala said, the division of work and coordination between the Home Affairs Ministry and the Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration Ministry in managing the village funds has not been clear in the field.
In such limited conditions, National Community Empowerment Program (PNPM) networks did not utilize the village funds. PNPM has an infrastructure that should have allowed it utilize the funds.
The absence of a clear design from the start can be seen in the steps taken by the Home Affairs Ministry, which issued a guideline on the supervision of the village funds in December 2016. In the guidelines, the ministry assigns inspectorates of provinces and regencies/cities to supervise the funds.
In reality, the inspectorates of the regencies/cities have not worked as well as expected. "In the Pamekasan case, for example, the inspectorate of regencies/cities was even involved in bribing the law enforcers," Pahala said.
In the Pamekasan fund embezzlement case, the KPK arrested and named Pamekasan Regent Achmad Syafii Yasin, Pamekasan Regency Inspectorate head Sutjipto Utomo, Pamekasan Prosecutor’s Office head Rudy Indra and Dasok Village Chief in Pamekasan Agus Mulyadi suspects for their alleged attempt to bribe law enforcers over a village fund misuse amounting to Rp 100 million. The bribery was allegedly carried out by Sutjipto to Rudy following instruction by Syafii and Agus Mulyadi (Kompas, 3/8).
The fund embezzlement case in Pamekasan, which was mentioned by Pahala as only the tip of the iceberg, according to Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo, involved village heads, crooked persons of the prosecutor’s office, inspectorates of the regional administrations and regional heads.
"There were collusions among the four institutions, which should have safeguarded and supervised the village funds, not the other way around," he said.
Assistance
Sri Palupi, a researcher of the Institute for Ecosoc Rights, said that a coordination problem related to the village funds also took place between the central government and regional administrations. As this has had negative implications, it indicates that the apparatuses and village community have not fully understood the village fund program.
"The central government and regional administrations have not given adequate information and skills to the apparatuses and village community. However, the villages have been bombarded with a number of obligations and administration requirements, which are not easy," she said.
The chairman of the Association of Village Heads of Sidoarjo regency, who is also the Suwaluh village head in Balong Bendo district, Heru Sulthon, urged the government to not only emphasize supervision, but also provide guidance and assistance.He also asked the legal apparatuses to focus on guidance beyond just law enforcement.
"If an indication of deviation is found, it has to be carefully looked at to see whether it is simply a matter of administration or there is an intention for corruption," he said.
Sidoarjo Prosecutor’s Office chief Mohammad Soenarto warmly welcome the proposal for assistance to the village apparatuses. "The prosecutor’s office has actually opened a consultation center or assistance for the villages. However, the facility has not fully been utilized. When there is a problem, they just come to the prosecutor’s office," he said.
On the other hand, according to Pahala, there are crooked persons in regional law enforcement offices who frequently misuse their power. They should cooperate with the village heads to ensure the utilization of the village funds is in line with the target, but they do not seem to allow for complaints and consultation.
"When the village funds are disbursed, the village heads are approached by the law enforcers. They are surely frightened even though there have not necessarily been criminal offenses. There can be only administration mistakes in the utilization of the village funds so that there is no need to incriminate the village heads. However, because time for consultation is not available, the frightened village heads try every way they can to influence the law enforcers," he said.
The establishment of a special village funds task force from various ministries and institutions, according to Pahala, was one of the solutions to minimizing the possibility of foul play by law enforcers.
Furthermore, he said the existence of the task force would instill synergy among related ministries and institutions. "Usually when a task force is formed, borders of authority among ministries and institutions disappear. Synergy will be improved.”
