Gov’t Disburses Village Funds for COVID-19 Handling, Cash for Work, Cash Transfer

Minister of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration delivers a statement in a press conference at the Presidential Office, Thursday (24/9). Photo by: PR/Ibrahim

The Government disburses village funds for COVID-19 handling, cash for work, and cash transfer, Minister of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration Abdul Halim Iskandar has said.

“The total amount of village funds that has been distributed to village accounts is Rp 52 trillion, Rp 11.9 trillion of which has been used for COVID-19 handling in villages, cash for fork, and other infrastructure development, and Rp 15.4 trillion has been disbursed for cash transfer. The total amount that has been disbursed is Rp 27.345 trillion,” the Minister said during a press conference at the Presidential Office, Thursday (24/9).

The remaining budget, according to the Minister, is Rp 43 trillion, namely Rp 13.06 trillion for cash transfer until December 2020 and Rp 30.793 trillion for the acceleration of economic improvement.

“We have issued Circular Number 15 of 2020 which stipulates that the budget will be used for cash for work in villages on condition that more than 50% of the budget is used for wages,” The Minister added.

“If the Rp 30.793-trillion budget is used for cash for work until December, it is expected that the budget will provide jobs for 7,056,751 workers,” the Minister said.

The Minister said that the Government also speeds up village economic development by strengthening village enterprises.

“In July, we managed to register 10,629 village enterprises with a total turnover of Rp 938 billion. In August, 20,046 village enterprises have been registered with a total turnover of Rp 1.173 trillion,” he added.

The Minister added that the Government has supported village enterprises by providing access to banking system and online market place.

The Minister further said that the existing recipients of cash transfer in villages are 8 million recipients, 88% of them are farmers, 4% fishermen, 2% factory workers, 1% teachers, and 5% are in MSMEs sectors.

“Approximately 2.5 million recipients of the cash transfer are women. They are breadwinners who have not received any social safety net programs before,” the Minister said.

Regarding the future policy for the village funds, the Minister said that Presidential Decree Number 59 of 2017 states that the funds must benefit all village residents, especially low-income people, improve the economy in the villages, and support the measures in achieving sustainable development goals. (FID/EN)

Translated by: Ridwan Ibadurrohman
Reviewed by: Lulu Wuliarti