JAKARTA – The Directorate General of Village Government Development (Bina Pemdes) of the Ministry of Home Affairs encourages action to prevent corruption in villages by increasing the number of villages that are used as anti-corruption models and online applications.
The Director General (Dirjen) of Village Government Development (Bina Pemdes) Eko Prasetyanto Purnomo Putro revealed that his party had so far collaborated with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to prevent corruption from occurring in the villages.
“We also made the villages that won the championship yesterday a model for anti-corruption,” said Eko in his official statement in Jakarta, Thursday.
In addition, the Directorate General of Bina Pemdes has also held Technical Guidance (Bimtek) regarding the use of village financial management applications.
According to him, the guidance is part of the Village Governance Strengthening and Developing Program (P3PD) formed by the Government of Indonesia and the World Bank.
The prevention of corruption needs to be done considering that the central government has disbursed budgets to villages throughout Indonesia in the form of Village Funds.
Eko himself estimated that village funds flowing into villages from 2015–2023 amounted to around IDR 538.6 trillion.
“Every week we receive letters from the Regional Police, the Attorney General’s Office, to investigate the village head. It’s a pity, they are not necessarily guilty,” he said.
Apart from that, he continued, the Directorate General of Bina Pemdes and the Development and Finance Audit Agency (BPKP) are also developing online applications.
Even so, Eko admits that this application still has many challenges, such as blank spots, electricity constraints, human resources, budgeting, and institutions.
“Let’s solve this problem. The important thing is that there is progress in managing village finances,” he said.
Eko also mentioned non-cash transactions, considering that these transactions must be implemented no later than January 1, 2024.
“Besides making things easier, this is also to prevent corruption because money is flexible and simple,” he said. (ADVERTORIAL)
