Village funds for the 2022 fiscal year will be prioritized to facilitate economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, an official at the Ministry of Village, Development of Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration stated.
"Village funds are used to support the national economic recovery," the ministry's director general of villages and rural areas development Sugito, noted in a written statement received here, Friday.
Sugito highlighted that the village funds will be channelled for several purposes, with the first being poverty alleviation to create poverty-free villages.
The second area of focus is the development of enterprises that are prioritized for those managed by Village-Owned Enterprises (BUMDes) or Joint Village-Owned Enterprises (BUMDesma) to achieve environmentally conscious village consumption and production.
The third priority is the establishment, development, and capacity building of BUMDes or BUMDes management for equitable economic growth across villages.
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Sugito affirmed that poverty alleviation to realize poverty-free villages aligns with the first goal of SDGs.
"Poverty in all villages across Indonesia is targeted to touch zero percent by 2030," Sugito noted during a Village Academy online lecture.
To realize poverty-free villages, Sugito drew attention to channel village funds in several areas, including decreasing expenses, providing social assistance through fund cash transfers (BLT), increasing income by empowering MSMEs, developing local economies, and providing job access through PKTD.
Sugito remarked that the priority use of village funds in 2022 was set on August 24, 2021, in Regulation of the Minister of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration No. 7 of 2021.
Those priorities are adjusted to the pandemic conditions, which are projected to continue. The priority use of village funds also entails the application of principles that include humanity, justice, kebhinekaan (unity in diversity), the balance of nature, and national strategic policies based on the village authority, he stated.
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