JAKARTA - Village funds allocation in the 2021 Draft State Budget has been raised by 1.1% to Rp 72 trillion to support economic recovery amid the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, said Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.
“Village funds allocation has been raised to Rp 72 trillion for next year. We will carry out several measures while remaining focused on economic recovery,” Ms Indrawati said at a work meeting with the Regional Representatives Council’s Committee IV on Wednesday (9/9) as quoted from Antara.
According to Ms Indrawati, the funds will be used to strengthen labour-intensive programmes and the social safety net in the form of cash transfers, empower MSMEs and the agribusiness sector, encourage digital transformation in rural areas, and develop potential in rural areas, including through increasing the role of village-owned enterprises.
“Next year, the village funds policy aims to increase the portion of the funds’ allocation in order to improve its proportion in accordance with each village’s characteristics,” said the former World Bank Managing Director. (MS)