Village Ministry to Use 2021 Village Funds for COVID-19 Handling
Minister of Villages, Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration Abdul Halim Iskandar (Photo by: Documentation of Public Relations of Cabinet Secretariat)
Minister of Villages, Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration Abdul Halim Iskandar has said that the 2021 Village Funds will be used for COVID-19 handling in villages that impose the micro-scale public activity restrictions (PPKM Mikro).
The Minister made the statement on Tuesday (9/3) during the 2021 National Coordination Meeting on Disaster Management adopting a theme “Resilience against Disasters” held by the National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB).
According to him, the handling of COVID-19 at the village level is quite effective. Therefore, Village Ministry will constantly monitor the use of Village Fund allocated for the handling.
“Alhamdulillah, we always monitor, and it runs well. The funds at the village level is well-used in accordance with responsibility and obligation imposed by the COVID-19 Handling Task Force. The handling was carried out using the Village Funds. We always monitor it,” the Minister said.
Abdul said that as of 8 March 2021, the absorption of Village Funds at the national level reached 31 percent or 23,096 villages, while at the villages imposing the micro-scale public activity restrictions, out of the total budget of Rp24 trillion, Rp3.2 trillion (13 percent of the funds) has been disbursed. The disbursed fund has been allocated for various activities, including operational costs of the COVID-19 response posts.
“We provide opportunities for villages to name their posts based on their respective local wisdom. In essence, every village has traditions that have been preserved and we continue to maintain the traditions
On that occasion, the Minister expressed hope that the use of 2021 Village Funds for the handling of COVID-19 pandemic in villages, which includes Village Funds direct cash assistance (BLT Dana Desa) and village volunteers, can curb the spread of COVID-19 and strengthen the economy of community at the village level. (Public Relations of Village Ministry/UN) (RIF/MMB)
