Since being determined three years ago, Constitution Number 6 in 2014 about village becomes one of the most active law which had derived 2 Government Regulations and 3 Presidential Decrees. However, this constitution still faces various obstacles in its implementation, particularly in the village fund management.
“Village Law is the most active constitution which succeeded derived several regulations. Some of them had been implemented and the rest still become agenda. In my opinion, there are several regulations which have to be adjusted,” said General Secretary of Ministry of Village, Rural Development, and Transmigration, Anwar Sanusi, Ph.D. on Friday (7/4) at Faculty of Social Science and Political Science Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM).
This issue was delivered in a Focus Group Discussion entitled Management Dimension, Village Fund Management, and Enhancement of Society and Village Capacity in Implementing Village Law which was held by Research Centre for Politics and Government Faculty of Social Science and Political Science collaborated with Village Law PASA-World Bank. In the occasion, Anwar presented material regarding the implementation of Village Law, its achievements, obstacles, and challenges.
Relating to the village fund management, he mentioned several essential aspects which become the concern in the implementation of Village Law including village management, village fund management, as well as enhancement of society capacity. In order to success in those three aspects, according to Anwar, we have to concern on Village Law since the formulation process until its implementation. From formulation aspect, he admitted there were many critics regarding the same amount of fund in every region. Meanwhile, from the implementation aspect, village fund management which involves three different ministries cause overlapping in the implementation of their functions.
“The formulation got many critics due to its insignificant contribution in reducing poverty because the village funds are divided equally for every region regardless the number of its residents,” said Anwar.
Besides the existing issues, Anwar believes that village fund can be one of the solutions to develop village region. Therefore, he hopes discussions and studies which are conducted by academicians can be used as references for the government in implementing village law.
Meanwhile, Dean of Faculty of Social Science and Political Science, Dr. Erwan Agus Purwanto emphasized UGM commitment on village development both from innovation aspect and direct involvement in the society.
“We stand on the left behind and marginalized society, including they who live in villages. UGM not only gives contribution through idea but also implementation in the form of community services by the lecturers and UGM deploys hundreds of students to perform community service in many rural areas throughout Indonesia,” said Erwan.
Regarding the issue which is faced by the implementation of Village Law and village fund management, Erwan said supervision aspect is crucial to ensure the effectivity of village fund utilization which is solely intended for the society. He also invites the society to participate in supervising its implementation.