THE EDITOR – Arif Pokan (33), Head of Finance in Sintuwulemba Village, Lage Sub-district, Poso Regency, Central Sulawesi, said he became more confident in presenting the village budget after receiving training in the Village Government and Development Strengthening Programme (P3PD) at the end of 2023.
In a telephone conversation with The Editor on Tuesday (28/11/2024) evening, Arif, who had just finished holding a meeting with the villagers, said that one of the P3PD training he attended at that time was public speaking training.
Public Speaking is the art of communicating orally to convey ideas, notions, messages, and opinions that aim to inform, entertain, influence, and are performed in front of an audience with certain methods and structures.
“In P3PD (training), we were taught soft skills such as public speaking. I am now more confident when explaining programmes to use the village budget either in front of residents or village staff,” he said.
Arif said that not only did he gain confidence, but the community also understood more about the village programme thanks to his explanation and presentation.
According to him, such an ability is very important because it is not easy for him to explain about finance well in front of many people considering that he does not have a financial education background.
“It is very helpful for the finance department to explain the realisation of the village budget and revenue. Without good public speaking, I’m afraid that it will not be conveyed properly,” he said.
Arif, who is also a farmer, shared his experience during a village meeting, when village officials were invited by the sub-district to explain the realisation of the village budget. The event usually features officials from the district and sub-district.
“Usually in this event, the finance department is asked to explain the finances (of their respective villages) and the sub-district representing the regency is also present,” he said.
The P3PD training, according to Arif, teaches village finance staff to understand their section and how to explain the realisation of the village budget.
WHAT IS P3PD?
This training is provided in order to teach village officials to be able to encourage the efficiency and effectiveness of village fund management and are able to strengthen institutional capacity and accountability systems that will lead to improved quality of spending at the village level.
There are five ministries mandated to run this programme, namely the Ministry of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Cultural Affairs, the Ministry of Finances, and the Ministry of National Development Planning. This programme aims to make quality village spending in accordance with community competencies.
